'Kenya needs a little benevolent dictatorship,' Oburu tells President Ruto

The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader Dr Oburu Odinga has urged President William Ruto to remain steadfast in implementing key government reforms, saying transformative programmes often require bold leadership despite public criticism.

Speaking during the assent to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Bill, 2026, at State House, Nairobi, Oburu said governments have historically struggled to implement major reforms due to pressure from vested interests.

The veteran politician even went ahead to suggest that a “little dictatorship” would not be a bad idea, arguing that decisive leadership is sometimes necessary to ensure critical national programmes are implemented.

"We have been in government, and I was an Assistant Minister of Finance. We tried to move, but the private interests around who want to benefit from small infrastructure, which does not take the country anywhere, always come in to put pressure on the government, making it not to progress," he said.

"Sometimes there is too much democracy; there should be a little benevolent dictatorship so that some things can move. Mr President, I don't want to say that you should be a dictator; I am not saying that.”

Oburu singled out the Social Health Authority (SHA) as one of the government's most significant reforms, saying critics have failed to appreciate the progress made toward achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

In a seeming suggestion that SHA ought to be accepted by all Kenyans, he noted that the programme had already registered millions of Kenyans, describing it as a milestone in expanding access to healthcare.

"But some of these things, like SHA, I think critics don't go into the details of what is happening. It is a very big transformation towards what we have been calling universal health care. Many governments have tried to introduce UHC, but there is no other move which is nearer to UHC than the SHA," he said.

"We have covered now more than 30 million Kenyans, and they have registered for SHA and I think being bold and sometimes unpopular is not bad. Being popular sometimes does not help people.”

Oburu added: "I know people will realise very soon that some of these moves are very helpful to our country."

President Ruto on Wednesday signed into law the Sovereign Wealth Fund Bill, 2026.

The law establishes Kenya's Sovereign Wealth Fund, which is expected to provide a framework for saving and investing surplus public resources for long-term national development.