Ruto on Magarini mini-poll: Broad-based government will field one candidate
Here was the news that could be a huge political earthquake in Kenya in 2027 when President Ruto announced that in the forthcoming by-elections UDA and Raila’s team will agree on joint candidates and not fight against each other.
If that kind of arrangement happens in the next General Elections in 2027 it could change the political landscape of the country completely.
President William Ruto has addressed the upcoming by-election in Magarini Constituency, affirming that his broad-based government will field a joint candidate.
While the official date for the mini-poll is yet to be announced, the IEBC selection panel has stated that the commission’s chairperson and commissioners will be in office by April 25.
Speaking on Friday at the burial of Senate Speaker Amason Kingi’s father in Kilifi, Ruto warned his political rivals to prepare for a tough contest when Magarini voters head to the ballot.
He announced that the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) would hold joint nominations and support the most popular and formidable candidate.
“Our opponents think we will waste this opportunity, confuse ourselves, and lose. I want to tell them that, as leaders who believe in national unity under this broad-based government, we shall bring everyone together and support the winner,” Ruto said.
The stage is set for a titanic duel between President William Ruto and his former deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, as the political landscape in Kenya braces for a showdown that promises to dominate the discourse leading up to the 2027 elections.
He emphasized that former Magarini MP Harrison Kombe (ODM), whose election was annulled by the Supreme Court, and former MP Michael Kingi (PAA) are both his friends.
“Even my UDA aspirant is here, and he is my person, but we shall subject them all to nomination to pick the best candidate,” he added.
Observers believe the by-elections could serve as an early indicator of the 2027 general election battle, which is expected to pit Ruto and Raila against their likely main challengers—Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka and former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
We don’t know if William Ruto and Raila Odinga and their political groupings will field single candidates in 2027 but if they do it will be a game changer for real in Kenyan politics. It also obvious that there are a lot of talks behind the scenes with these amigos.
Bottom line is that if Raila’s groups in their strongholds field candidates and UDA folks do the same in the areas where they have influence and can sort out a few hot buttons here and there then the opposition groups which is already confusing like hell will have a nightmare in 2027. There are going to be small internal fights but that is normal and will make no difference in the big picture.
I say the opposition is already confused because because we have four five parties and then we have the Gachugua Wamunyoro group and their first collapse will be on who will be their presidential candidate.
As we already know they have candidates who are so desperate to run for the presidency in 2027 and they see as a chance to beat Ruto and if that does not happen they all see running for the presidency in 2027 as a ticket to put them in the best place to take that seat in 2032 after William Ruto leaves office. So nobody is going to back down and then everything goes up in smoke.
If Raila and Ruto do their deal and get single candidates for the governor positions, MPs, senators and MCAs it could be a riot against the opposition. Even the presidency may come in where UDA has President Ruto as their guy in the big house and Raila and his groups will pick up the candidate for the DP job and we already know the top candidates for that.
The other stories that has amused me are the calls that Raila Odinga must support a presidential candidate from the opposition. That was fine until they said that Raila should support Fred Matiang’i if he is the nominated opposition candidate.
This is who Fred Matiang’i, who the Jubilee Presidential nominee is and Kenyans know him at his worst as the Interior CS for Kenya during 2017/18 General Elections.
The Baby Pendo Case and the Unfulfilled Promise of Accountability
The tragic story of Baby Samantha Pendo has become a haunting reminder of the barriers facing justice in Kenya, even for the most innocent of victims. Her life, taken at just six months, was marked by a horrifying brutality that should shock any nation. But seven years after her untimely death at the hands of police officers during Kenya’s 2017 post-election violence, the start of justice remains indefinitely deferred.
The case surrounding Baby Pendo’s death is as much about the horror of that fateful night as it is about the structural flaws within Kenya’s justice system. Margistrate Omollo, in a past ruling, graphically described the brutality that ensued as officers stormed Pendo’s home, wielding batons and instilling terror among residents. “A fine flower was bashed by one of the baton-wielding policemen who had laid siege to her parents’ house,”.
The other thing Raila Odinga needs to sort out with President Ruto and their team of CSs is to come up with a tangible and realistic plan to get jobs and business opportunities for Kenyan youth. Not every young Kenyan who graduates from college and other schools can become Boda Boda riders which is the only job available to Kenyan youth today. Not all young Kenyans need to be running around in our cities and urban centres hunting for non existent jobs.
For many Kenyans, motorbike taxis are the best way to get around
Kenyan youth need help to become industrial farm producers in their country and to move the country into another level of agriculture being at the centre of our economy. Kenya cannot confine the entire youth of our country to Boda Boda business.
Even within the Boda Boda business the emphasis for Kenya should be to help the youth set up motor-bike assembly centres so they can actually produce the motor bikes they use and for the country. And it would be great if the Kenya government put resources to help the youth develop Electric Motor Bikes and use solar power for that by bringing solar panels for youth use for their bikes and to help residents put the solar system as the electricity supply for their homes and businesses.
I know something about solar energy in my home town. Me and my family we build a great houses at our homeland. Then we needed electricity in the home. We were asked to pay Sh. 174,000.00 just for them to bring the power system home. And we were lucky because some of our neigbhours had Kenya power systems in their homes so we have to get electric poles from there.
Then I ask my sister who has a bigger house and houses and they are powered by solar energy how much she paid for all that. She told me she paid Sh. 70,000.00 to have the solar panels and the solar system fixed for her housing and she does not pay anything but has to maintain the solar system for light and cooking for her and her tenants. I asked her why she didn’t give me that option and she said I was in a hurry for my house after our mother passed away and she just had to do what was possible.
Kenya from the county level to the national programming and international cooperation need to build realistic plans for Climate Change and economic programs based on work on the ground from the farmers to the urban centres. Let Kenya ask the international community who are committed to fighting climate change to bring complete solar power for Kenya. They will be very happy what Kenya will turn that into for the whole world to be safer climate wise.
Can you imagine an electric powered Mkokoteni dropping stuff all over the place in the country, particularly in the urban centres. They will be dropping fruits, vegetables, potatoes, clothing, bread and built in Kenya. Mkokoteni is a big part of our economy particularly in the urban centres. Why not help the youth turn them into EV machines and set up factories to build that and then bring in the electric charging spots.
If we do that we would have established a complete new truck in the world and the mkokoteni rider will be sitting in front just switching the power on and off and moving products all over the place. Building an economy means using what you have and make them better.
Solutions Africa Introduces Electric Tuk-Tuks In Kenya
Can Kenya build its own electric Tuk Tuks in all our urban centres. These are the kind of creative investments and manufacturing jobs that Kenyan young people need and they need the resources to get this kind of work going on instead of just talk and talk which is the same thing from the opposition who have no clue whatso ever on what to do to help young people economically other than trying to parrot about them as a political weapon for themselves.
And then set up basic things like helping youth build baking companies to make bread for Kenyans all over the country instead of everybody eating bread from same multi-billion companies. To make bread you need to have the basic equipment and have wheat flour supply. Kenyan youth can do that in every part of the country. Why not help them in such productive ventures.
The other thing Raila Odinga and President Ruto can work on is sort out issuing of IDs for Kenyans. The other day the Kipchumba Murkomen the Interior CS said that Kenyans will automatically get their IDs when they turn 18 years old and that is good.
But the fact is that there are millions of Kenyans above 18 years old some even 50 years old who do not have IDs right now. Can every Kenyan above 18 years old right now go to the ID office near them and get an ID as quickly as possible. In the first place they are going to need it to register to vote.
Kenyans to get IDs automatically upon turning 18 – Interior CS Murkomen
Kenyans will in future be automatically issued identity cards (ID) upon turning 18 years old based on data collected from birth.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen announced on Friday saying the government had put all measures to ensure the process was seamless without contravening its security protocols.
In the meantime this is our Nairobi and it is all over Kenya. Nothing works for ordinary Kenyans in their daily lives.
Matatus to be moved as Sh30bn Nairobi railway project kicks off
Matatu operators block Tom Mboya street in Nairobi’s CBD to protest occupancy of their parking space by hawkers, on January 30
Passenger service vehicle operators at the railways bus terminal will be evicted before the year-ends to pave way for the multi-billion railway city project.
There is no way any country can develop in this format. It is just sick economics for the nation and the lives of the citizens do not matter to the politicians right from the head office at State House.
Boda Boda can be a huge industry in Kenya but we have to think outside the box as a country to get there.
Number one, the county governors and the municipalities need to get good parking systems where passengers including school kids (a big part of boda boda customers and riders) have safe boarding and drop off spots. And then the rest of public transport also need safe parking spaces. There is none of that in any part of the country and Nairobi County is the headquarters of public transport chaos in our country. It has to stop from Nairobi and everywhere. It is doable. This is not rocket science.
The one thing that amazed me about the boda boda riders in my town of Bondo is that they were very organized. Their big stand is at Bondo/Waringa road right on the Highway from Nairobi, through Kisumu to Usenge beach in Yimbo.
My house is five minutes from there so I go through there to get the town centre for food and things and I just loved it. They did not block the highway. There was a gas station at the centre for their motor bikes parking lot on both sides of the road. Then me and my family we just ride our own motorbikes and go to the other part of the town where my sisters live and we get great food. We couldn’t ask for more.
Now here is the challenge with the Boda Boda Industry in Kenya. We need to have a system where the Kenyans will start assembling Boda Boda bikes in our country. I saw one attempt in my town where they got old motor bikes and were assembling them to be good and working.
We have to go above that by providing investments opportunities for Kenyans to produce motor bikes at home. We can work with China and South Korea to help young Kenyans set up Motor Bike Assembly centres in Kenya for the country and even for export in Africa.
The best deal would be if Kenya can work with these countries to produce electric motor bikes and also build the batteries for those bikes in Kenya and elsewhere. Again it is doable because their is economic need for it in our country and in other countries for trade.
That brings me to the solar energy options we have in Kenya given we at the middle of the equator and have sunshine everyday of every month. How about we get our electric motor bikes using solar power all across the country. Are you kidding me!
And then we have this part of our national economy which is just growing. I have to confess that my first avocado tree was very good for years but it died in my forest of trees and fruits at home.
But we need this great product all over Kenya. Me I am taking it home again with better plans. The big deal is that the Kenyans youth should be given the resources to engage in farming these kinds of export products and it should be done all over the country.
Appetite for Kenya’s ‘green gold’ spawns new crop of millionaires
On the other hand youths sort out freshly harvested avocados from farmers in Kandara, Murang’a County. Brokers buy them on behalf of local processors for the export market.
In the highlands of Kenya, a green revolution is underway, with avocados quickly becoming the nation’s new “green gold.”
According to new data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the global appetite for this nutrient-rich fruit is surging, transforming many smallholder farmers in Kenya into millionaires who are capitalising on the booming export market.
Kenya, now the sixth-largest avocado producer in the world, produced 633,000 metric tonnes (MT) of the fruit in 2023.
Last, I think the Treasury CS John Mbadi has a great job to do for the 2025 Finance Bill but his initiative on Climate Change investment in the republic should be greatly welcomed by Kenyans and it has to be implemented.
Kenyans to benefit from Sh4.7 billion climate funding
Kenya is set to receive Sh4.7 billion ($36 million) from donors that will benefit more than 2.7 million people in the Lake Region Economic Bloc.
The project will support smallholder farmers and producer cooperatives who are among the most vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. This emerged during the 41st meeting of the Green Climate Fund Board held in Songdo, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
More than 2.7 million people in the Lake Region Economic Bloc are set to benefit from a climate resilience project worth Sh4.7 billion ($36 million).
John Mbadi, National Treasury, Cabinet Secretary said the project will support smallholder farmers and producer cooperatives, who are among the most vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.
“The goal of the project is to promote climate-resilient and low-carbon practices in six value chains, including dairy, poultry, coffee, tea, fruit trees, and African leafy vegetables in the Lake Region Economic Bloc. Through the project, farmers will be trained and supported to adopt climate-smart technologies and practices for improved production, access to markets and increased incomes,” he said.
A delegation from the Kenyan government led by the CS participated in the signing ceremony of this project. In his remarks Mbadi noted that the agriculture sector in Kenya is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
He said; “While smallholders, including women and youth, and producer cooperatives may be the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, they are critical solutions and change actors to the challenges of climate change Kenya is facing.”
He added that the Kenyan government will fully support FAO’s GCF program to build climate resilience in the Lake Region Economic Bloc’s agricultural sector and fully committed to its complete and successful implementation.
Henry Gonzalez, Chief Investment Officer of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), said. ‘This project will support smallholder farmers in Kenya in protecting their livelihoods against climate risk. GCF’s investment will strengthen agricultural value chains and increase community resilience.’
The funding and subsidiary agreements were signed on the same day between GCF, FAO, and the Government of Kenya, accelerating implementation of a new climate-resilient agricultural project in the Lake Region Economic Bloc, Kenya.
The initiative, implemented in collaboration with the Government of Kenya, Agriterra, and the Government of Denmark, will provide more than 143,000 farmers with training and support to adopt climate-smart technologies and practices, strengthening their resilience to climate change and increasing their household incomes.
Since becoming partners in 2016, FAO and the GCF have been scaling up investments in high-impact projects that make the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors more efficient, inclusive, sustainable and resilient to climate change.
I am happy the Treasury CS John Mbadi is helping to bring Climate Chane investments to the country and he has said Sh. 2.7 billion will be allocated to the Lake regin to make these investments work. That is great news.
I come from the Lake region and I started my family farming system in 1997 with my mother and my sisters as well as nephews. It was very tough. We were not doing any climate change stuff but my mother asked me to fence her 8.5 acre land just off the Bondo highway. We did it with my nephew and planted trees all over the farm. We were not doing climate change but my mother wanted the place to be secure and green.
All our neighbours got mad with us. Fencing your land is one of the most annoying things for your neighbours because they cannot let their goats and cows roam in your land and eat everything. And then we planted eucalyptus trees and the neigbours said those trees suck up all the water from their farms.
It took years before me and my neigbhours saw the value in the tree farm and now they have more trees than me. For us fencing your land is the first step to doing anything with it including climate change projects. You can’t do anything on an open piece of land.
Then we agreed that in every piece of land we had we must have some trees, plants, fruits, vegetables and every green thing we could grow. That is how it is now and we are all friends again as we should be.
The idea of fighting climate change by politicians planting one tree while dressed in green clothes and having a million pictures of them taken is useless. Fighting climate starts in everybody’s farm and how they use it. That should be the focus going forward.
That is where the John Mbadi Climate Change Funding has to be focused. Help Kenyans turn their lands into productive green space for food, fruits and vegetables for the country and even for export.
The Climate Change investments in the lake region should also play a big role in helping people to engage more actively in fish farming in Lake Victoria. The lake is constipated with all sorts of waste and the fishing industry an economic bench mark in the region has been very badly affected with that.
Bring the facilities needed to help people set up fish farming in the lake and for those who are doing it now it is very productive but you need a lot of equipment to do that. Also introduce solar powered boat engines so the fishing folks do not take those oil engines that leak bad stuff into the lake. If you do that you are going to get a lot of international funding to advance the process for purposes of avoiding pollution of the lake while also making economic progress for the people who live there.
Our dreams for Kenya and the world maybe lies in such original farmers. John Mbadi should include such ideas in his Sh. 4.7 billion investments and the country will get better economically.
Here is what Kenyans need in Lake Victoria.
