Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka has dismissed claims that he has abandoned President William Ruto’s political camp, reaffirming his support for the President’s bid for re-election in the 2027 General Election.
Lusaka, who serves as President Ruto’s Western Region Re-election Coordinator, described the claims as political propaganda and challenged those spreading the narrative to stop “dreaming” and focus on issues affecting voters.
“Stop dreaming. I am with President Ruto to the ballot,” Lusaka said, reaffirming his commitment to coordinating grassroots mobilisation across Western Kenya in support of Ruto’s re-election campaign.
The Bungoma governor said every leader from the Mulembe Nation has a democratic right to seek the presidency but maintained that the emergence of alternative political formations had not changed his position within the Ruto camp.
Lusaka said he had no reason to abandon what he described as a working government, pointing to development programmes in agriculture, infrastructure and food security as evidence of the administration’s performance.
He cited the reduction of fertiliser prices from Sh7,500 to Sh2,000, investments in agriculture and food security, and the construction of modern sporting facilities among the initiatives he said demonstrated the government’s development record.
The governor also challenged opposition leaders to present a clear development agenda, arguing that political rhetoric without concrete proposals for improving citizens’ lives would not be enough to defeat President Ruto’s development-focused campaign.
“As a coordination team, we are going to every grassroots in Western Kenya to mobilise our people behind President Ruto’s re-election, anchored on development,” he said.
Kakamega Deputy Governor Ayub Savula also backed the President, claiming that political support in Western Kenya was shifting towards Ruto following the death of former opposition leader Raila Odinga, whom he said the region had previously supported.
Savula pointed to the revival of the sugar industry, including operations at Nzoia and Mumias sugar factories, as evidence of the government’s development efforts in Western Kenya.
He challenged opposition leaders to demonstrate how they would deliver comparable development if elected.
The Kakamega deputy governor also cautioned young people against being used to fuel political violence ahead of the 2027 elections, calling for peaceful political engagement and an end to political goonism.
Kiminini MP Kakai Bisau urged Western Kenya residents to continue supporting President Ruto, arguing that maintaining a working relationship with the national government would help the region secure investments in roads, infrastructure, education and other sectors.
Shinyalu MP Fred Ikana similarly linked development projects in his constituency to the region’s cooperation with the Kenya Kwanza administration.
Ikana cited investments in roads and other infrastructure as evidence of what he described as the benefits of maintaining a working relationship with the national government.
The Shinyalu MP also called for political tolerance and peaceful competition ahead of the 2027 General Election, while urging investigative agencies to pursue individuals accused of financing political violence.
The leaders spoke in Shinyalu Constituency, Kakamega County, during the groundbreaking ceremony for modern storey classrooms at Handidi Primary School.
The event also provided an opportunity for the leaders to intensify grassroots mobilisation for President Ruto’s 2027 re-election campaign in Western Kenya.
