By Prof. Gitile Naituli
There was a time when Makau Mutua stood atop Kenya’s public discourse as a self-styled oracle of democratic virtue—a voice that roared with indignation against impunity, corruption, and autocracy.
With a professorial tone and activist flair, he branded himself as a moral compass in a nation adrift.
He scoffed at William Ruto’s presidency with disdain, vowing never to serve “a regime built on corruption and electoral fraud.”
He publicly declared he could never, under any circumstances, work for William Ruto.But politics, it seems, has a way of revealing what grandstanding conceals.
The very man who fashioned his identity around unwavering principles has now embraced the very power he once denounced. President Ruto has appointed Makau Mutua as an adviser on constitutional affairs—a portfolio that touches the very heart of the political values Mutua once claimed were under assault by the current regime.
Without so much as an explanation, the moral crusader has joined the table of power he once condemned.It is no small irony. For years, Mutua spewed venom against the very regime he now serves.
He branded the “hustler movement” as a populist con, accused Ruto of authoritarian inclinations, and positioned himself as a guardian of democratic ideals.
But when the chance came to cash in on proximity to power, the transformation was instant. The moral robe slipped off, and underneath was a familiar figure in Kenyan politics: the career opportunist.
What does this say about Kenya’s intellectual elite? Mutua is not the first, and sadly won’t be the last, to market outrage for prestige only to sell loyalty for access.
The tragedy here is not just his hypocrisy—it is the erosion of trust in principled leadership. When those who claim the high ground so easily descend into the mud, the public is left disillusioned and cynical.
Makau Mutua has become a cautionary tale. He reminds us that eloquence is not integrity, and activism is not always rooted in conviction.
Sometimes it is just branding. Strip away the polished language, the New York op-eds, the academic prestige, and you find a man more devoted to political relevance than to principle.In the end, Mutua’s about-face is not just a personal failing.
It is a symptom of a broader crisis: a political culture where ideals are seasonal, and loyalty flows not to the Constitution but to whoever holds the spoils. Kenya deserves better—from its leaders, its intellectuals, and especially from those who claim to speak for the people.
