• Canada-based lawyer Miguna Miguna pushed back against journalist Linus Kaikai's criticism of President William Ruto's public outbursts against opposition figures
• Miguna argued that Kaikai was being selective, insisting past Kenyan presidents including Kenyatta, Moi and Kibaki had used far more vulgar language in public
• Kaikai fired back by challenging Miguna to justify the forcible deportation he suffered under Uhuru Kenyatta and Ruto, turning the debate deeply personal
Canada-based lawyer and political commentator Miguna Miguna clashed publicly with veteran journalist Linus Kaikai after Kaikai raised concerns about President William Ruto's conduct during recent public addresses targeting opposition leaders.
Source: Facebook
Kaikai, speaking on Citizen TV's News Gang programme, argued that the language and tone Ruto had adopted in addressing political opponents was demeaning and beneath the dignity of the presidency. He maintained that some of the head of state's utterances during the week were unnecessary and unpresidential.
Miguna Accuses Kaikai of Double Standards
Miguna dismissed Kaikai's argument, accusing him of applying a selective standard to Ruto while ignoring the far more inflammatory rhetoric used by previous occupants of State House. He argued that Ruto had actually shown more restraint than his predecessors.
"Jomo Kenyatta used to foam in the mouth, loudly and consistently curse, hurl epithets, threats and vulgarities almost on a daily basis," Miguna said, going on to cite specific instances attributed to Kenyatta, Daniel Moi and Mwai Kibaki.
He also named former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, claiming he too had "often publicly abused our innocent mothers' private parts unprovoked."
"Uhuru Kenyatta’s public threats and vulgarities, including against members of the judiciary, are well documented. So are Donald Trump’s daily rants, threats and vulgarities," added Miguna.
Miguna argued that criticism of Ruto on this issue had to be grounded in honesty and consistency across all leaders. "We must critique truthfully and with integrity. Telling the truth is a revolutionary act," he said.
Kaikai Brings Up Miguna's Own Deportation
Kaikai's response took a sharp personal turn. Rather than defending his analysis directly, he pointed to Miguna's own ordeal under the administration that included Ruto as deputy president, asking whether the treatment Miguna had suffered was acceptable simply because earlier presidents had also committed abuses.
"What was wrong with President Uhuru and His Deputy Ruto breaking into your house, trashing court orders and your birthright as a Kenyan citizen and bundling you into a plane to Canada? Was it right just because other Presidents did it?" Kaikai asked.
Miguna clarified that his original argument was specifically about public language, not about the broader conduct of presidents. He insisted Kaikai had distorted his position by conflating the two.
He also took aim at what he described as Kaikai's inconsistency, accusing the journalist of recently celebrating the very atrocities carried out against him.
"Give an example of a president blowing up a citizen's house, detaining him incommunicado, torturing him, seizing and destroying his passport, declaring him an alien, sedating him and removing him from his country of birth while he is unconscious then blocking him from returning for more than 5 years in violation of the constitution and valid court orders," Miguna said.
Kaikai dismissed the characterisation, telling Miguna not to stretch the argument, and stating that describing his experience as atrocities "which had not been committed by any other Kenyan despot" was neither proportionate nor accurate, noting that other leaders had done worse than merely expel a dual citizen.
Is Kenya a one-term country?
Kaikai recently elicited mixed reactions after arguing that Kenya is, in effect, a one-term nation. The seasoned scribe claimed that every president who has won a second term since the advent of multiparty democracy did so through manipulation rather than a genuine democratic mandate.
Kaikai made the argument in the context of mounting public confessions by senior political figures that elections in 2013, 2017, and 2022 were not conducted credibly.
Source: TUKO.co.ke