{"id":123469,"date":"2025-10-21T12:03:05","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T12:03:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/10\/21\/maraga-accuses-ruto-of-bottomless-greed-over-weak-privatisation-law\/"},"modified":"2025-10-21T12:03:05","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T12:03:05","slug":"maraga-accuses-ruto-of-bottomless-greed-over-weak-privatisation-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/maraga-accuses-ruto-of-bottomless-greed-over-weak-privatisation-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Maraga accuses Ruto of \u2018bottomless greed\u2019 over \u2018weak\u2019 privatisation law"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 21 \u2014 Former Chief Justice David Maraga has accused President William Ruto\u2019s administration of \u201cbottomless greed,\u201d warning that the newly assented Privatization Act opens the door for the uncontrolled sale of Kenya\u2019s national assets without adequate parliamentary oversight or public participation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking to the press on Tuesday, Maraga said the timing of the President\u2019s signing of eight controversial bills on October 15 \u2014 the same day Odinga\u2019s death was announced \u2014 was \u201ca shameful act that mocks the ideals of justice and democracy\u201d that Raila stood for.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the very moment the nation was mourning the passing of Right Honorable Raila Odinga, President Ruto was at State House signing into law not one, but eight bills, some of which [are] quite draconian,\u201d Maraga said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a shame that the President could be doing that when the rest of the country was mourning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the laws signed that day were the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime (Amendment) Act, the Land (Amendment) Act and the National Police Service (Amendment) Act.<\/p>\n

Maraga warned the new Privatization Act, dangerously concentrates power in the hands of the Treasury Cabinet Secretary and the Privatization Authority, both of whom he described as \u201chandmaids of the President.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Bottomless greed\u2019<\/h2>\n

He warned that under the new law, the Cabinet Secretary for Treasury could unilaterally prepare and approve a privatization program valid for eight years, including the sale of strategic state corporations and public assets, without requiring detailed valuation reports or meaningful parliamentary approval.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new Privatization Act grants Ruto powers to do what he pleases with national assets,\u201d Maraga declared. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn its characteristic, inexplicable, and bottomless greed, Ruto\u2019s government plans to embark on an unchecked spree of auctioning this country\u2019s treasured public entities to cronies and proxies of those in power.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maraga further alleged that the Act undermines transparency by exempting disclosure of buyers in cases where privatization occurs through initial public offerings (IPOs) \u2014 a move he said \u201cshields politically connected beneficiaries from public scrutiny.\u201d<\/p>\n

The former Chief Justice, who has announced plans to vie for the presidency in 2027 under the United Green Movement (UGM) Party, said the legislation erodes public accountability and poses a grave threat to national sovereignty.<\/p>\n

\u201cProsperity will not come by selling our strategic assets but by empowering citizens to work freely and participate in nation-building,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cA state that cannibalizes its institutions and betrays its people [is] not fit to continue ruling over Kenyans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Lost legitimacy\u2019<\/h2>\n

Maraga also criticized amendments to the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act, saying they were designed to \u201ccontrol and crush political dissent and online activism\u201d under the guise of combating cybercrime \u2014 echoing fears raised during the 2024 youth-led protests against the Finance Bill.<\/p>\n

Maraga terms Cybercrimes Act assent a betrayal of Kenyans, faults provisions on website closures \u00bb Capital News<\/a><\/p>\n

He vowed to support ongoing legal efforts challenging the constitutionality of the new laws, declaring that President Ruto has \u201clost legitimacy to lead\u201d by repeatedly violating the spirit of the 2010 Constitution.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese amendments are unconstitutional, null, and void,\u201d Maraga said. \u201cA President who does not respect the Constitution has no legitimacy to continue governing this country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ending his address, Maraga urged Kenyans to defend their sovereignty as enshrined in Article 1 of the Constitution, reminding them that power ultimately belongs to the people, not to Parliament, the Executive, or foreign investors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must all stand up and defend our sovereignty,\u201d he said. \u201cThe power lies with us \u2014 the sovereign people of Kenya.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 21 \u2014 Former Chief Justice David Maraga has accused President William Ruto\u2019s administration of \u201cbottomless greed,\u201d warning that the newly assented Privatization Act opens the door for the uncontrolled sale of Kenya\u2019s national assets without adequate parliamentary oversight or public participation. Speaking to the press on Tuesday, Maraga said the timing of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-123469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123469"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123469\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}