Panyako Claims Ruto Offered Him CS Job After Malava Loss, Says He Rejected It Over ‘Inhumanity’

United Opposition candidate Seth Panyako has claimed that President William Ruto’s government tried to entice him with a Cabinet Secretary position only days after he lost the Malava by-election.

Speaking during a radio interview on Wednesday, December 3, Panyako said the offer was made on November 28 and described it as an insult to voters who had endured violence during the campaigns.

He said he refused the offer because it went against the principles of his campaign and the suffering experienced by his supporters.

According to Panyako, the government’s approach was “the highest level of inhumanity” and a sign that “sycophants” were running the country. He insisted he did not seek elective office in order to be rewarded with a ministerial job and warned that accepting such an offer would betray the people of Malava and Kabras who had backed him.

Panyako said this was not the first time the Ruto administration had approached him.

President William Ruto.

In 2022, shortly after the general election, he was allegedly asked to take up a Principal Secretary position but declined, saying he already had work and preferred someone else to take the role.

At the time he was still in UDA and had actively campaigned for Ruto’s presidential bid.

He said his supporters immediately rejected the idea of him joining the government once rumours of the CS offer began circulating.

According to Panyako, residents urged him to stay true to his message and remain in opposition, telling him not to “dare join that bloody government.”

Panyako accused the president of campaigning against him during the Malava race because of his uncompromising stand on policy issues.

He said his agenda frightened the government because it challenged decisions he believes are harmful to Kenyans, including the abolition of the Linda Mama maternal health programme and what he termed as reckless changes in the education sector.

He claimed that entering Parliament with such a message would have created political trouble for the administration.

The Malava by-election ended with UDA candidate David Ndakwa emerging the winner with 21,564 votes against Panyako’s 20,210.

Ndakwa was declared the MP by Returning Officer Salim Abdala after what was described as a tightly contested race.

Panyako maintains that his defeat and the subsequent job offer from government reflect a broader intolerance to dissent.

He said his advocacy on policies affecting women’s health and education placed him in direct conflict with the administration, and he vowed to continue speaking out even outside Parliament.