'Sell your ideas without insulting anyone,' Oginde warns politicians

 Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission Chairperson David Oginde. [Benard Orwongo, Standard]

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has accused political leaders of teaching young people abusive language through their conduct and rhetoric.

EACC Chairperson David Oginde said young people are copying the language and practices they see from senior politicians, including during student demonstrations.

Oginde spoke during the Senior Leaders Breakfast Meeting 2026, themed ‘Leading With Integrity in Challenging Times’, in Nairobi on Tuesday, October 6.

“Leaders are not just leaders on the platform, but they are also leaders that young people and children are looking up to. They want to emulate,” said Oginde.

He urged politicians to avoid insulting, abusing or demeaning their opponents as the country heads towards the 2027 General Election.

“We see this, therefore, even when we have student demonstrations. They copy the same language, the same practices that they are seeing in our senior leaders,” observed Oginde.

His remarks come as the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) continues to question politicians over remarks it considers potentially inflammatory ahead of the elections.

The NCIC summoned former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua in August over remarks it said could amount to hate speech and ethnic incitement.

It also summoned Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa and Turkana South MP John Ariko over remarks allegedly targeting the Pokot community.

Oginde called on politicians to focus on selling their ideas rather than attacking their rivals.

“Let's use the right language, sell your ideas without insulting anyone, without abusing people, without demeaning others,” said Oginde.

“It is not in demeaning others that you become great. It is in being humble that you become great.”

He warned leaders against using language that could incite people as political activity intensifies ahead of the 2027 General Election.

Oginde also acknowledged that many Kenyans judge the EACC's performance by the number of corruption suspects it arrests and prosecutes.

“They want to hear, what are you doing with corruption? How many people have you jailed? That's the only way they will know that we are successful,” noted Oginde.

The commission recorded 33 convictions in the 2024/25 financial year, up from 12 the previous year. It also finalised 54 cases and recovered assets worth Sh3.4 billion.

However, Oginde said preventing corruption was equally important, with the commission conducting system reviews and corruption risk assessments, training integrity officers and supporting institutions to develop prevention measures.

“Our people are generally good. There are good people in this country. If only we provide them with the right environment to do the right thing, they will be able to do it,” observed Oginde.

He also urged citizens to report suspected misuse of public funds, including the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and development resources at county, sub-county and ward levels.

“Be our eyes on the ground, our ears on the ground,” said Oginde.