Natembeya rules out being bought by Ruto ahead of 2027
By Mustafa Juma, March 12, 2026Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya has dismissed suggestions that he could be politically influenced or bought by President William Ruto ahead of the 2027 general election.
Speaking during an interview with a local TV station on the night of Wednesday, March 11, 2026, Natembeya insisted that he will not betray Kenyans for personal gain.
The former Rift Valley Regional Commissioner said he has no personal needs that would compel him to accept political inducements, adding that leaders who sell out their principles for money ultimately betray the public trust.
“Ruto can’t buy me. What is he going to give me that I need so much?” Natembeya posed.
Financial stability
The governor said he is financially stable and capable of taking care of his personal responsibilities without relying on political favours.
“If it’s a matter of paying fees for my children, I pay. I have a salary and a pension. If it comes to eating food, how much does one person need?” he said.
Natembeya further questioned the logic behind leaders accepting inducements at the expense of national interests.
He went ahead to criticise what he described as a culture where some leaders are easily influenced by financial incentives to abandon their political positions.
“This idea of being bought as human beings — you are bought, and then you betray the entire nation — is very bad,” Natembeya said.
People’s defender
He maintained that he would remain firm in defending the interests of Kenyans regardless of political pressure.
“Nobody will ever buy me. I will not betray Kenyans because somebody has given me something,” he said.
Natembeya urged fellow leaders to resist political inducements, warning that such arrangements rarely remain hidden for long.
“Let us not be bought. If you are bought, eventually it will be known that you have been bought,” he said.
Natembeya has increasingly emerged as a vocal political figure as early alignments begin to form ahead of the 2027 general election.
His remarks add to the growing political debate around alliances, integrity, and leadership within Kenya’s evolving political landscape, particularly as opposition leaders seek to consolidate their positions against the ruling administration.
However, he has rebuked the presidential ambitions of the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader and former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, noting that he would not support him should the courts clear him to vie for the presidency in the 2027 General Election.
Despite the two being in the United Opposition, Natembeya argued that he believed the presidency should rotate.
“No, because I believe that the presidency should rotate. The Mt Kenya community has had it for around 43 years, almost 30-something years, one community. And again, when you go there, there isn’t much difference… like people in Kikendu in Murang’a, and the people in Kabuchai, there is really no difference. They’ve had a president we have not had, but our lives are just the same,” he said during the same interview.