Mumias East MP Peter Salasya has once again lit up the political gallery, leaking private SMS exchanges with Senator Richard Onyonka to expose the generational clash simmering within Kenya’s opposition.

In the theater of Kenyan politics, Mumias East MP Peter Salasya plays the role of the unpredictable disruptor. This week, the youthful lawmaker turned his guns on Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka, leaking a series of private SMS messages that have laid bare the tensions between the "Young Turks" and the established political order. The drama began when Salasya publicly claimed that the fractures within the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) were being "financially engineered" to distract Kenyans from economic hardships. This analysis did not sit well with Senator Onyonka, a seasoned politician, who took to Salasya’s private inbox to offer some unsolicited "mentorship."

According to the screenshots shared by Salasya, Onyonka warned the young MP that his remarks risked "destroying his budding political career" and cautioned him against his current trajectory. Salasya’s response was characteristically blunt and public: "Who are you in my inbox?" he posted, effectively weaponizing the private counsel to rally his base against what he perceives as condescension from the old guard.

The "Gen Z" Style vs. Traditional Protocol

This spat is emblematic of a wider cultural shift in Kenyan leadership. Onyonka represents the traditional school of politics—backroom advice, seniority, and "respect" for hierarchy. Salasya, on the other hand, embodies the "Gen Z" politician: transparent to a fault, combative, and living his political life on social media. By publishing the SMS, Salasya violated the unwritten code of political omertà, signaling that he refuses to be "managed" or "advised" behind closed doors.

• The Warning: Onyonka’s message implies that Salasya’s loose tongue could alienate key power brokers. In Kenya’s coalition politics, being labeled a "loose cannon" can indeed be fatal to one’s ascent.
• The Clapback: Salasya’s dismissal of the warning resonates with a youthful electorate that is tired of being told to "wait their turn" or toe the line. His query, "Who are you in my inbox?", is a rhetorical rejection of Onyonka’s authority to police his speech.

Distraction or Strategy?

While entertaining, the feud also serves a strategic purpose. For Salasya, picking fights with senior figures like Onyonka keeps him in the headlines and reinforces his brand as a fearless outsider. It also distracts from the substance of his original claim—that ODM’s implosion is a paid-for distraction. Ironically, by creating a spectacle over an SMS, Salasya is participating in the very distraction politics he decried. As the screenshots circulate and the memes multiply, the serious questions about the state of the opposition remain unanswered, buried under the weight of a digital shouting match between a Senator and a first-term MP.