UDA owes Kenyans an apology over remarks made in the Senate

Nominated Senator Karen Nyamu on Spice FM. [Screengrab] 

As the primary accountability season nears, politicians suddenly pick up our calls, and patterns sharpen. How do last week’s Senate exchange, a youth poll, and this week’s by‑election connect, and why do all parties in power need to pay attention?

United Democratic Alliance-nominated Senator Karen Nyamu justifiably drew public anger for her degrading remarks to a minor and Grade 10 student during a Senate civic education visit on 25 March. She then dug a deeper hole by interrupting her own apology with a disavowal.

As of yesterday, more than 1,700 had petitioned UDA Secretary-General and former KNCHR Vice-Chairperson Hassan Omar to invoke disciplinary party mechanisms to review Senator Nyamu’s conduct and nomination, considering the blatant violations of Chapter Six and the Children Act (2022).

Petitioners also want him to issue a formal public censure condemning the remarks as contrary to UDA’s values. It’s unclear if the petitioners are UDA members, but all are taxpayers. As ‘non‑party member contributors,’ they deserve a hearing. UDA received Sh480 million from the publicly funded Political Parties Fund (PPF) and the nominated Senator’s salary, allowance, staff, office, travel, and overheads likely cost taxpayers over Sh35 million in 2025.

Her comments in the Senate not only sexualised a minor but also objectified her in the presence of Kenya’s most elected leadership and the nation. Her remarks betrayed a complete lack of touch with the nationwide emergency that girls and women face.

Close to five million girls have experienced physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. Current reported trends suggest 30 per cent of our granddaughters, daughters, sisters, nieces, and cousins will suffer sexual violence by the age of 18.

Two Nakuru and Elgeyo Marakwet county MicYetu polls released recently make interesting reading. First, some essential political context. Bar one elected representative, Caroline Jeptoo (Independent), Nakuru and Elgeyo Marakwet operate like de facto one-party strongholds. During the 2022 elections, UDA swept all six levels of representation.

1,613 young people (15-35) participated in the April polls. Refreshingly, the research finds 70.6 per cent of youth intend to vote in 2027. However, youth trust in their UDA county governments, Senate, and National Assembly representatives is collapsing. Across both counties, lack of jobs and income is the current major crisis, but two out of five young people say leaders only appear at election time.

Less than 40 per cent feel the government helps them, and 61 per cent feel intimidated by the police. 63 per cent of them have recently gone to the streets to protest. With the political window for transforming their lives and livelihoods closing, left uninterrupted, the current trends could easily flip this sense of leadership distrust and economic frustration into more protests and political punishment in August 2027.

This week’s Emurua Dikirr by‑election, following three-term UDA MP Johana Ng’eno’s death, tested UDA dominance in the region against Rigathi Gachagua’s DCP. While UDA retained the seat with David Keter garnering 62 per cent, Vincent Rotich (DCP), 37 per cent, does appear to have fractured UDA’s political monopoly in a Rift constituency historically aligned to William Ruto.

Taken together, these three recent developments offer a wake-up call to UDA and other parties in power across our 47 counties. The Gen Z uprising was triggered by a political class out of touch with an increasingly frustrated, alert, and engaged youth and their demand for accountability and integrity.

Last week’s distressing Senate exchange revealed a leadership culture short on national values, perhaps even predatory. The youth polls reveal that young people feel politically ignored and economically excluded.

This week’s by-election demonstrates that voters are actively testing and reshaping political power. Together, they signal a shift. A politically aware generation is losing patience with poor delivery and political indifference and is preparing to act.

The Senator’s voluntary resignation or a public and fair disciplinary process won’t fix everything, but it would signal that UDA takes women, girls, and its own credibility as an inclusive party seriously. Is that too much to ask as a taxpayer and voter?