Atwoli Accuses Ndindi Nyoro of Undermining Ruto’s Development Agenda

Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro speaks during a past event. PHOTO | COURTESY

Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary-General Francis Atwoli has accused Kiharu Member of Parliament Ndindi Nyoro of undermining national development through sustained criticism of President William Ruto’s economic agenda.

In a statement released on Saturday, January 24th, Atwoli said organised labour had deliberately chosen not to be drawn into what he termed narrow political narratives that prioritise transactional debates over long-term national transformation.

“As COTU, and on behalf of Kenyan workers, we have made a deliberate and conscious decision not to be drawn into a narrative that elevates the transaction above the transformation,” Atwoli said.

He emphasised that ongoing government-led economic restructuring and partial divestiture initiatives should be viewed as tools rather than end goals, arguing that the broader objective remains infrastructure expansion, job creation, industrial growth, and improved living standards for Kenyan workers.

“The partial divestiture is not the end; it is merely the means. The objective is infrastructure, jobs, industrial growth, and dignity for Kenyan workers,” he added.

Atwoli took direct aim at Nyoro, accusing the legislator of reducing complex national development efforts to debates over pricing models and technical mechanics while ignoring deeper socio-economic challenges facing the country.

“Those, like Ndindi Nyoro, who reduce this conversation about the total transformation of Kenya to be merely about debatable pricing formulas and transactional mechanics, while ignoring crippling infrastructure gaps, the unemployment crisis, and the high cost of living, are, wittingly or unwittingly, delaying the development of this country,” Atwoli said.

Nyoro, a former Budget and Appropriations Committee chair, has in recent weeks been vocal in questioning aspects of the government’s fiscal and economic decisions, positioning himself as a critic of what he describes as unsustainable policy choices.

Atwoli’s remarks highlight growing tensions within Kenya’s political and economic discourse, as labour leaders, government allies, and reform-minded critics clash over the direction and pace of President Ruto’s development agenda.