Senior Counsel Ahmednassir Abdullahi has made headlines with a pointed response to Prof Makau Mutua, offering rare bluntness in Kenya’s elite political discourse.
In a culture often fixated on personalities, Ahmednassir redirected attention to substance, insisting that uncomfortable truths should not be dismissed merely because of who delivers them.
Ahmednassir openly acknowledged that criticism of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is valid, noting that Gachagua’s style, rhetoric, and political posture raise legitimate concerns—a point on which he and Prof Mutua agree.
However, Ahmednassir went further. He argued that rejecting a political figure does not mean rejecting factual reality. According to him, everything Gachagua said about Northern Kenya and the entrenched “lords of poverty” dominating its politics is also true.
“NFD people know everything,” Ahmednassir declared, challenging the notion that Northern Frontier District communities are passive or easily manipulated.
He stressed that these communities are well aware of who has profited from chronic underdevelopment, who has turned marginalisation into a political tool, and who has grown wealthy while the region remained poor.
His statement serves as a sharp rebuke to Nairobi-based intellectuals and activists who, in his view, underestimate the political consciousness of Northern Kenya.
By attacking the messenger while shielding predatory local elites, Ahmednassir argued, society only prolongs injustice.
The intervention reframes the debate, demanding honesty, accountability, and respect for the political intelligence of Northern Kenya’s people.
Ahmednassir’s message is clear: the region’s citizens are politically aware, and ignoring this reality undermines both justice and democratic discourse.
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Politics