Former nominated senator Gloria Orwoba has dismissed the 47 economic charters signed by the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) with various groups across the counties during the election campaigns, terming them a hoax.

Speaking on the Obinna Show on Monday, September 1, 2025, Orwoba said that although the process of drafting and selling the charters to communities appeared genuine, the government never intended to implement them. She argued that the charters were used as campaign tools to win support but have since been abandoned.

“All the economic charters were lies, all 47 of them. We went to all 47 counties. In theory, the people who worked on the charters and the people to whom the charters were sold to were not lying, but the implementation of the charter was never intended,” Orwoba said.

She pointed to the Gusii region, specifically Nyamira and Kisii counties, as an example. According to Orwoba, residents were promised an airport as part of their charter, but the government has repeatedly backtracked on the pledge. She explained that doubts about the seriousness of the charters began immediately after Cabinet appointments, when it became clear that the appointees lacked the capacity or intention to fulfil the promises outlined.

“In the Gusii region, that is Nyamira and Kisii, we have an airport. We were promised an airport. The first instance that we began doubting the charters was the Cabinet appointees. Since the appointees, it was evident that they could not manage to live up to the contents of the charters,” she added.

Orwoba further noted that despite several meetings between leaders from the region and the president, the promise of an airport has been dismissed outright, reinforcing her claim that the economic charters were never meant to be implemented.

Women charter

She went ahead to add that even the women’s charter, which the president launched with women at Nyayo Stadium, included a promise that upon his re-election, women would be issued free nappies for their children. She observed that after he took power, this pledge was abandoned, and none of the commitments under the women’s charter have been implemented since then.

This outburst from the nominated senator comes at a time when she has been thrown out of the Senate, with her slot being taken by Consolata Wakwabubi, forcing her to stage a protest outside the Senate chambers.