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National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has once again caused a stir in Kenya’s political landscape with his declaration that the people of Nyanza will not play a subordinate role to the Mt Kenya community in the 2027 General Election.

Mbadi stressed that Nyanza, a region that has been a stronghold for the opposition for decades, deserves equal political recognition and influence as the 2027 General Elections approach.

The CS’s remarks are likely to trigger even more political conversation, as he suggested that the Nyanza region would back President Ruto’s re-election bid in the 2027 elections.

This shift in support signals a significant change, as it indicates that Nyanza, traditionally aligned with opposition figures, led by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, might back the incumbent president in the upcoming elections, perhaps aiming for greater political influence in return.

Mbadi reminded the nation of how Raila’s father, the late doyen of opposition politics in Kenya, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, had stood by the founding father of the nation Mzee Jomo Kenyatta in the early years of Kenya’s independence, and how Raila himself had consistently supported leaders from Mt Kenya, notably Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta and Mwai Kibaki, in their political careers.

The CS was speaking during a visit to Chiga village where he and Flocca Country Director Dr Peter Othengo and former Eala MP Otieno Karan, graced an environmental project.

According to him, the political debt owed to Raila and the people of Nyanza had not been repaid by their counterparts in Mt Kenya

Jaramogi, considered the father of opposition politics in Kenya, was an integral figure in the liberation struggle and a key player in the early post-independence politics and did well when he sacrificed his ambitions for Jomo Kenyatta.

However, his relationship with Kenyatta was fraught with political tension, which culminated in his role as a leading opposition figure after Kenya’s independence.