Maraga to Ruto: Release Police Reform Report or I Will Publish It Myself
Former Chief Justice David Maraga has turned the spotlight on the independence of Kenya’s police service following the violence that rocked the Linda Mwananchi tour in Homa Bay, demanding that President William Ruto release a long-awaited report on police reforms or risk having Maraga publish it himself.
In a strongly worded letter dated August 18, 2026, Maraga told President Ruto that the Homa Bay violence, coming amid growing political tensions ahead of the 2027 General Election, was a reminder of the dangers of a police service that he says is vulnerable to political direction.
Maraga, who chaired the National Taskforce on Police Reforms, says the report was submitted to President Ruto on November 16, 2023, but has never been made public in full.
He now wants the complete and unedited report released within seven days.
“For now, nearly three years, you have failed to implement the said recommendations and restore the Independence of the Service.”
Maraga argues that the continued failure to implement the recommendations has allowed what he describes as systemic police brutality and impunity to persist.
“This is a road the country has travelled before at terrible cost. It must not travel it again.”
The former Chief Justice says the recent violence in Homa Bay cannot be viewed in isolation, pointing to what he describes as organised political violence, goonism and partisan policing witnessed in different parts of the country.
His intervention follows the disruption and violence witnessed during the Linda Mwananchi tour in Homa Bay on Sunday, where supporters and leaders were caught up in clashes, while journalists covering the events were also targeted. The violence has renewed concerns over the safety of political gatherings and the protection of media workers as political activity intensifies.
Maraga has questioned why political gatherings associated with President Ruto appear to receive heavy security protection, while opposition-linked events have repeatedly been exposed to attacks by organised groups.
He has also challenged Kenyans to question the apparent difference in security deployment, recalling the heavy police presence during Gen Z demonstrations and arguing that the State has demonstrated that it can deploy security personnel in large numbers when it chooses to.
For Maraga, the central question is whether the National Police Service is genuinely independent or whether officers are being directed according to political interests.
The former Chief Justice has previously argued that peaceful demonstrations are constitutionally protected and that security agencies must act professionally and within the law.
His concerns echo the findings of the police reform taskforce, which identified challenges including corruption, leadership weaknesses, structural problems and accountability within Kenya’s security services. The report was formally presented to President Ruto in November 2023.
Maraga is now invoking Article 35 of the Constitution, which provides for access to information, to demand the release of the report.
And he has issued President Ruto a direct ultimatum: release the report within seven days, or he will release it himself.
The letter also places the debate beyond the police, with Maraga warning about the wider health of Kenya’s democratic institutions, including the independence of the Judiciary and the freedom of the media.
For a former Chief Justice who chaired the very taskforce whose recommendations he is now demanding be made public, the Homa Bay violence has therefore become more than another episode of political unrest.
It has reopened an old question at the heart of Kenya’s governance: who controls the police, the Constitution and the law, or political power?
