SIAYA, Kenya — Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Oburu Odinga has defended his controversial remarks urging President William Ruto to embrace what he termed “benevolent dictatorship,” insisting he was advocating decisive and selfless leadership rather than authoritarian rule.
Speaking in Yala, Gem Constituency in Siaya County, Oburu said his comments had been taken out of context, accusing critics of deliberately ignoring the meaning of the word “benevolent.”
“If those people don’t understand English, I will teach them,” Oburu said.
‘Benevolent’ Was the Key Word
The veteran politician said his remarks were intended to encourage President Ruto to remain focused on implementing transformative policies despite political opposition and pressure from vested interests.
“I encouraged the President to occasionally employ a level of ‘benevolent dictatorship’ to stand firm, cut through the political noise, and make the hard, bold decisions necessary to achieve the absolute best for all Kenyans,” he said.
Oburu explained that, in his view, benevolent leadership means placing the interests of citizens ahead of personal or political considerations.
“Benevolent means as a president who is selfless, serving his people and has vision which will benefit the people. But with some people dragging you, you implement them first,” he said.
Cites Singapore’s Development
Oburu pointed to Singapore’s economic transformation as an example of how strong and decisive leadership can accelerate national development.
“Let us follow what Singapore did. Their leader used benevolent dictatorship in order to push Singapore to the First World,” he said.
He added that Kenya and Singapore were at comparable levels of development at independence but argued that Singapore’s leadership enabled it to achieve rapid economic growth.
“At independence, Singapore and Kenya were at the same level of development. Right now they are 40 times the economy of Kenya and this is because of a little bit of push,” he said.
Origin of the Remarks
Oburu first made the remarks earlier this week during the signing into law of the Sovereign Wealth Fund Bill, 2026, at State House, Nairobi.
During the event, he argued that governments often face challenges implementing long-term reforms because of pressure from individuals pursuing short-term interests.
“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.
He added:
“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.”