Maraga rejects Raila-Ruto NADCO committee, calls it ‘insult against the intelligence of Kenyans’

Former Chief Justice David Maraga has strongly rejected the recently formed committee mandated to implement the 10-point agenda and oversee the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) report, describing it as a deceitful political maneuver that insults the intelligence of Kenyans.

In a press statement released Friday, Maraga dismissed the legitimacy and effectiveness of the five-member committee formed on August 6, 2025, saying it mirrors a pattern of political elitism and systemic failure.

The committee, consisting of both President William Ruto's United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and Raila Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) members, seeks to “address long-standing national challenges through the full implementation of the NADCO Report, promotion of inclusivity in public life, and protection and strengthening of devolution.”

It includes social commentator and newspaper columnist Gabriel Oguda, former Nominated Senator Agnes Zani, Kevin Kiarie, Fatuma Ibrahim, and political communication strategist Javas Bigambo.

But Maraga scoffed at the committee’s stated mission, noting that such bureaucratic bodies have historically yielded little progress.

“The formation of this Committee follows a host of committees, task forces, and commissions that have been formed for various purposes, with little in the way of results,” he said.

Maraga noted that the NADCO initiative, which the new committee is tasked to implement, was itself a byproduct of the contentious 2022 General Election and the nationwide protests that followed.

The protests were driven by public frustration over the high cost of living, and calls for electoral and governance reforms.

The CJ Emeritus warned that the latest move is yet another chapter in a long tradition of elite political bargaining that fails to deliver meaningful change.

“No one is blind to the fact that nothing changes because the same sludge of systemic rot that benefits the few stays in place, the same corrupt players pull the strings, and political power-grab remains the core intention,” he stated.

He accused political elites of using such platforms to entrench economic dominance, describing the trend as “elite capture of the economy” enabled by “pata-potea committees and handshakes.”

“The formation of these bureaucratic bodies is a deceit that comes at great expense to the taxpayer. This repeated insult against the intelligence of Kenyans will not go unchallenged,” he added.

According to Maraga, what Kenyans urgently require is not another committee, but genuine systemic change and governance anchored in the rule of law.

“What Kenyans want is real systemic change. What they are getting is reckless performative governance by a lazy leadership whose investment is purely in elite bargains,” he said.

He asserted that any ad hoc committees formed in future must be structured with the ability to genuinely reform the system and uplift the lives of ordinary Kenyans.

“If and when there’s a need for ad hoc committees, they must have the capacity to reset governance to the rule of law, restore the humanity of ordinary Kenyans lost through games of selfish elite power-grabs, and rebuild the institutions that must hold leaders accountable,” added Maraga.