In a political landscape often defined by long-term promises and sluggish delivery, former Cabinet Minister Kipruto Arap Kirwa has thrown a rhetorical grenade: he claims he needs less than half a year to turn the country’s fortunes around.

The statement, made during a candid media appearance this week, underscores a growing frustration among the political old guard with the current pace of reform. For the average Kenyan squeezing every shilling to buy unga or pay school fees, Kirwa’s assertion is either a breath of fresh air or a reminder of the stark disconnect between political theory and the gritty reality of governance.

“If I were to be president for five months, I would make a difference,” Kirwa declared, challenging the narrative that structural change requires decades. His argument hinges not on reinventing the wheel, but on a return to basics: enforcing existing laws, dismantling cartels, and telling the public the unvarnished truth.

The ‘Kibaki Blueprint’

Kirwa’s confidence is not entirely unfounded. As Agriculture Minister under President Mwai Kibaki (2003–2008), he presided over a period of significant recovery for the farming sector. It was an era when the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) functioned with relative efficiency and dairy farmers saw returns stabilize.

“We are better off as an independent nation, but we can still build on our gains,” Kirwa noted, emphasizing that the tools for success are already in the constitution. His five-month plan, while hypothetical, targets three specific areas:

• Restoring Institutional Independence: Ending executive interference in state agencies to allow them to execute their mandates without fear or favor.
• The Truth Doctrine: A complete audit of the national debt—currently estimated at over KES 11 trillion—to give Kenyans a transparent view of what is owed and to whom.
• Agricultural Triage: Immediate removal of taxes on farm inputs to lower the cost of production, directly impacting the price of food on the shelf.

A Crisis of Leadership, Not Resources

Kirwa’s critique strikes at the heart of the current administration’s approach. He has previously warned that the government’s tendency to “overpromise” and elevate leadership beyond the reach of ordinary citizens is a ticking time bomb. “The problem is the trajectory taken,” he observed, suggesting that the focus has shifted from service delivery to political survival.

For the mwananchi in Trans Nzoia or Uasin Gishu, these are not abstract concepts. The cost of fertilizer and the unpredictability of maize prices directly dictate whether families eat three meals a day. Kirwa argues that the government’s complex explanations for economic hardship often mask a simple lack of political will.

“We need the government to rise to the occasion, not to surrender that space of sovereignty to any other individual,” he urged. His stance is that a leader does not need five years to signal intent; the impact of decisive action can be felt almost immediately if the intent is pure.

The Reality Check

However, analysts remain divided on the feasibility of such a rapid turnaround. Economic structural adjustments, particularly those tied to the IMF and World Bank, often have lag times of years, not months. Unwinding the web of corruption that siphons billions daily is also a task that has defeated successive regimes.

Yet, Kirwa’s message resonates because it rejects the normalization of failure. By claiming he could fix it in five months, he is effectively saying that the current suffering is a choice, not an inevitability.

“We are not asking them to do what is not humanly possible,” Kirwa concluded. “We are telling them: you promised us one, two, three. Can we see delivery of those things?”