Kenya is increasingly becoming a country where competing political explanations make it difficult for the public to establish what is true, Progress Alliance Party (PPA) leader Maliba Arnold has claimed, warning that government communication is helping deepen the confusion.
Arnold said the country was entering what he called a “post-truth era”, in which statements made by political leaders are followed by explanations and counter-explanations, leaving citizens to decide which version of events to believe.
Speaking during a Radio Generation interview on Friday, the PPA leader linked his concerns to the controversy that followed President William Ruto’s September 2 remarks targeting foreign nationals involved in small-scale trading and hawking.
Ruto made the remarks while meeting micro, small and medium-sized traders at State House, triggering concern among some foreign traders, particularly Burundians. Reports subsequently emerged of some Burundians seeking travel documents at their embassy in Nairobi amid fears over their businesses and safety.
The government has since moved to clarify that the measures are intended to regulate foreign businesses and ensure compliance with immigration, work permit and licensing rules, rather than target people because of their nationality.
Arnold, however, questioned why the explanation given later appeared different from the issue raised during the President’s meeting with traders.
He said the controversy started after a trader raised concerns about Chinese nationals who were allegedly sourcing goods directly from China and selling them to consumers in Nairobi, creating competition for Kenyan traders.
According to Arnold, the response changed the focus from Chinese traders to foreign hawkers, leading to a different understanding of what the President meant.
“Let’s be honest, none of us has encountered Chinese nationals hawking goods on the streets of Kenya. We have seen Chinese nationals involved in different businesses, but not moving around selling items such as duvets. So when the President talks about foreign hawkers selling such goods, people are likely to interpret those remarks based on the foreign traders they actually encounter in their communities.”
Arnold said subsequent government efforts to explain the remarks amounted to political damage control and risked weakening public confidence.
He accused officials of trying to replace the initial interpretation of the President’s comments with a different version, describing the approach as “gaslighting”.
“Sometimes it feels as though the truth itself is being distorted to the point where you begin to question your own understanding of what is happening. They are pushing that narrative very deliberately. Government officials, including Gabriel Muthama(Deputy Government Spokesperson) and Charles Owino(Government Spokesperson), will come out to defend the government’s position and, in the process, try to make the public doubt what they are seeing and hearing. At one point, they even blamed the media for the presence of Burundians in the country.”
The dispute has since grown beyond the question of foreign traders, with concerns also being raised over xenophobia and the possible impact of the debate on Kenya’s relations with neighbouring countries.
Rights organisations have maintained that action against foreign traders should follow the law and should not discriminate on the basis of nationality. Authorities have also taken action against individuals accused of harassing foreigners or encouraging hostility towards them.
Arnold said the attention directed at Burundians also raised questions about how political narratives can bring certain communities into the spotlight while leaving others out of the discussion.
He noted that Kenya has larger foreign communities from Somalia, Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania, yet Burundians have become the main focus of the latest debate.
“The question was not about those particular individuals, because the country with the highest foreigners here is Somalia. Okay, it's followed by Ethiopia, and then Uganda number three.”
The PPA leader claimed that nationals from Somalia, including those from the Federal Republic of Somalia, Puntland and Somaliland, number more than one million in Kenya. He put the Ethiopian population at more than half a million, followed by Ugandans and Tanzanians.
He said the Burundian population, by comparison, was below 50,000.
The debate has also brought renewed attention to the role of the media in handling political statements, particularly when claims made by leaders are later challenged or explained differently.
Kenya’s Media Council Code of Media Practice requires journalists to verify public claims, separate fact from opinion and give fair treatment to people who are mentioned adversely.
Arnold said the media was increasingly being drawn into political fights over competing accounts of events, making it harder for the public to separate political messaging from facts.
He warned that continued efforts to shape public narratives could widen political divisions and reduce confidence in both government communication and the media as the country heads towards the 2027 elections.
His remarks come amid a wider debate over foreign traders, immigration, access to business opportunities and the government’s handling of public communication, issues that are increasingly forming part of Kenya’s political contest.