Do not turn chiefs into political megaphones

Chiefs must serve the public, not act as campaign agents for the Ruto administration. [File Courtesy]

The directive by Interior Ministry Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo instructing chiefs, assistant chiefs and village elders to market government achievements at public gatherings is a deeply worrying development.

By ordering local administrators to use the time reserved for routine greetings at funerals, church services, and community meetings to actively campaign and defend President William Ruto's administration against criticism, the PS is walking in the wrong lane.

Chiefs and their assistants are public officers. Under Article 232 of the Constitution, the Public Officer Ethics Act, and the Elections Act, they are legally obligated to maintain political neutrality. Their duty is to serve all Kenyans regardless of political affiliation. Converting these administrators into political proxies to sell Dr Ruto’s re-election bid is a clear misuse of public office and taxpayers' resources.

This misplaced priority comes at a time when the Ministry of Interior should be fully focused on its primary constitutional mandate: Curbing insecurity, politically motivated violence, and organised crime. Instead of sending chiefs on campaign missions, top ministry officials ought to direct their energies toward ending State-sanctioned abductions, extrajudicial actions, and political thug violence.

Forcing public servants to campaign resurrects the dark memory of the single-party era when the state machinery was weaponised to suppress opposing viewpoints. Chiefs and assistant chiefs possess the fundamental constitutional right to vote for their preferred candidates in secret.

Coercing them into acting as campaign managers not only compromises their integrity but also risks exposing them to hostility within the communities they serve. If the administration’s development record speaks for itself, it should not require grassroots administrators to force-feed it to citizens at funerals and social gatherings.

The government must adhere strictly to the rule of law. High-ranking officials must cease intimidating public administrators and respect the boundaries of civil service neutrality. The police and National Government Administration Officers exist to maintain law and order, not to function as an engine for partisan re-election campaigns.