REVEALED: Karua Describes How Moi’s Institutions’ Control Led Her Into Politics
Martha Karua, leader of the People’s Liberation Party (PLP), has disclosed how former President Daniel Moi’s efforts to destabilize the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) influenced her choice to enter politics in the late 1980s.
Speaking on Saturday, July 12, in Washington, DC, Karua described how the late president motivated her to move from activism in the legal profession to the murky realm of politics in order to advocate for better leadership and governance.
Karua stated that the current political instability under President William Ruto’s rule, characterised by a desire for ultimate control, reflected what she had witnessed throughout Moi’s term, which had originally prompted her to enter politics.
“I was called into politics during times like these, during the Moi era,” Karua said.
She provided examples of how Moi’s formidable Kenya African National Union (KANU) party has infiltrated numerous governmental institutions.
Martha Karua to Gachagua : You are giving Ruto Knockouts Daily!!! pic.twitter.com/csYUsdoYbZ
— Mutembei TV (@MutembeiTV) July 12, 2025
Moi had announced plans to take over LSK, which was brimming with young lawyers eager to make a lasting imprint in the legal profession.
“I had just ended my contract as a magistrate, and I decided to go into private practice as a lawyer in 1987,” she narrated.
“The KANU regime was trying to encroach on the Law Society. As a young lawyer, together with other young lawyers, we started a movement of resisting being taken over by KANU.”
Karua described how Moi had successfully taken control of the Maendeleo ya Wanawake faction, which he later renamed KANU-Maendeleo ya Wanawake.
She also provided an example of Moi’s ability to suppress the powerful Central Organisation of Trade Unions- Kenya.
“It (KANU) had taken over Maendeleo ya Wanawake, the name had changed to KANU-Maendeleo ya Wanawake,” Karua recounted.
“COTU had been swallowed, and Mtukufu (Moi) expressed publicly that the next institution he would be taking would be the LSK because it was vocal.”
According to Karua, the pivotal moment occurred when President Moi appointed the LSK President of the time to a government position, shifting her focus to politics.
Moi was furious! He could barely get his words right. Martha? She didn't care. Fist in the air alama ya DP. Not a single person dared to stop her from leaving. Not even the dreaded Moi units. Iron lady. https://t.co/JGEoA7aPfN pic.twitter.com/eCDpwbjyWC
— Shoba Gatimu (@shobanes) July 11, 2025
“So, as young lawyers, when our chairman of the day agreed to a government appointment, we felt that he was leaning too close to the regime,” the fiery lawyer said.
However, Karua noted that despite deciding to venture into politics, she continued to merge it with her legal practice.
She cited the natural correlation between the two as the reason she is still seen in courtrooms practising law.
“I became active, organising and leading, to push back. And then I realised that you cannot practise your profession or business in a vacuum,” she said.
“It is within a socio-political and economic context, and I therefore linked the environment I worked in to the politics of the day.”
“And that is how, from activism within the Law Society, I went into the wider questions of governance in the country,” Karua explained.
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“The rest is history, and here I am, still practising the two professions, and they intersect very well.”
At the same time, Karua, who has been in politics for nearly three decades, announced her candidacy for president in the upcoming 2027 General Election.
However, she insisted that if she was not chosen as the flagbearer, she would support the candidate chosen by the opposition leadership, but she refused to be a running partner.
Karua noted that the country was bigger than anyone and that the emphasis should be on implementing reforms throughout the government, not just the presidency.
REVEALED: Karua Describes How Moi’s Institutions’ Control Led Her Into Politics
