By Isaac Dan Bw’Onyancha
The recent transfer of the Public Seal—Kenya’s ultimate symbol of state legitimacy—from the Attorney General’s office to the President’s Chief of Staff is not a mere administrative shift; it is a bold stroke in President William Ruto’s growing pattern of executive aggrandizement.
In a country already grappling with runaway corruption, skewed public appointments, and politicized resource allocation under the Kenya Kwanza administration, this move should alarm every patriot committed to democratic checks and balances.
Also Read
The Public Seal authenticates critical instruments of state: appointments, contracts, treaties, and other decisions that must reflect national interest and legality.
By placing it under the presidency, the legal buffer provided by the Attorney General is bypassed.
What remains is a seal that can now be applied without institutional scrutiny—raising fears of executive capture of legal instruments and the erosion of oversight.
This development comes at a time when public confidence in the Kenya Kwanza government is waning due to endemic corruption scandals, partisan appointments to state agencies, and a growing perception of exclusion and nepotism.
The centralization of such a powerful symbol in the President’s office risks converting Kenya into a “rubber-stamp republic,” where legality is no longer a matter of constitutional fidelity, but presidential convenience.
Moreover, the move offends the spirit of constitutionalism, particularly Articles 10 and 129 of the Constitution, which call for good governance, rule of law, and service to the people.
Instead of strengthening institutions, Kenya Kwanza appears keen on personalizing them—undermining the very essence of separation of powers.
In the hands of a populist regime obsessed with control, the seal is no longer just symbolic. It is now a loaded gun pointed at institutional independence.
If Parliament, civil society, and the judiciary do not act, Kenya risks slipping into an era where legality is what the presidency decrees it to be—and that is the clearest sign of creeping authoritarianism.
–Bw’Onyancha writes from Nyamira County.
