NAIROBI, Kenya —People’s Liberation Party leader Martha Karua has defended her role during Kenya’s disputed 2007 presidential election, rejecting claims that her political conduct at the time mirrored that of President William Ruto during the post-election crisis.
The People’s Liberation Party leader issued the clarification in a post on the social media platform X (Twitter) on Monday after an online user suggested that she had played a similar role for former President Mwai Kibaki as Ruto allegedly did for the late opposition chief Raila Odinga during the disputed polls.
Karua dismissed the comparison, saying that while she strongly supported Kibaki’s presidency, she did not participate in electoral malpractice or incite violence during the contested election period.
“I was a staunch Kibaki supporter but did not aid or abet rigging or cause violence the way William Ruto did, landing him at The Hague,” Karua wrote.
Her remarks reference the legal proceedings that followed the crisis at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which investigated several Kenyan political leaders over allegations related to the violence that followed the election.
Karua added that her role during the political standoff was closer to that played by veteran opposition figure James Orengo within Odinga’s camp, suggesting that both acted primarily as political advocates for their respective sides rather than as organisers of the violence that erupted after the results were announced.
The 2007–2008 Kenyan post-election crisis remains one of the most turbulent periods in the country’s political history.
The violence that followed the disputed results left more than 1,000 people dead and displaced hundreds of thousands across several regions.
The crisis ultimately led to a mediated political settlement brokered by international and regional actors, resulting in the formation of a grand coalition government between Kibaki and Odinga in 2008.
The veteran politician, who previously served as Kenya’s Justice Minister under Kibaki and later ran as a presidential candidate in 2013, has remained an outspoken figure on governance, constitutionalism, and electoral integrity in recent years.
