Western region broad-based leaders demands to Ruto

Cabinet Secretary for Co-operatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development Wycliffe Oparanya addresses the press while leading more than 20 leaders from Western Kenya in a meeting to deliberate on the region’s development agenda and other issues affecting the region in a Kisumu Hotel on September 7, 2026. [Daniel Ogendo, Standard]

Leaders allied to the broad-based government yesterday tabled sweeping demands for their support for the re-election of  President William Ruto in the August 2027 General Elections.

After a meeting in Kisumu, the leaders said the Western region would be allocated the Deputy President position in  Ruto’s administration if he secures a second term.

The MPs agreed to work as one unit to campaign for the re-election of President Ruto while simultaneously pushing for greater representation in the next government.

The MPs made the demands on Monday after holding a meeting of the Western MPs Caucus at the Grand Swiss Hotel in Kisumu, where they discussed the political situation in the country, development priorities and issues affecting residents of the region.

The meeting was held under the leadership of Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development Wycliffe Oparanya, with Sirisia MP John Waluke serving as the chair of the caucus.

Budalang'i MP Raphael Wanjala, who read the statement on behalf of the caucus, said the MPs had unanimously agreed to work together in supporting President Ruto’s re-election bid while ensuring that the region’s interests remain at the centre of their political engagement.

“Having met on this seventh day of September 2026 under the leadership of the Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives, Hon. Wycliffe Ambetsa Oparanya, we have unanimously agreed that the members of the caucus will work as one unit to campaign for the re-election of President William Ruto,” Wanjala said.

The legislators, however, made it clear that their support for the President would come with demands for greater political recognition, with the Deputy President position emerging as one of their key priorities.

“That as the Western community, we demand the seat of the Deputy President to deputise His Excellency President William Samoei Ruto in the next general election,” the statement read.

The caucus also demanded that the position currently held by Rachael Ameso in the Parliamentary Service Commission be retained in the Western region, while calling for the completion of all stalled government projects across the region.

The MPs further resolved to continuously raise issues affecting the people of Western Kenya as they seek to strengthen the region’s bargaining power ahead of the elections.

On taxation, the legislators commended President Ruto for addressing tax-related concerns affecting hawkers but called on the government to extend similar consideration to other workers facing financial challenges.

They also called for government intervention in the sugar sector, a major economic activity in the region, while reiterating their opposition to the Crop Amendment Bill.

“However, we wish to reiterate that we reject in total the Crop Amendment Bill,” Wanjala said while reading the statement.

The leaders also raised concern over the education funding crisis, saying it had affected many students, particularly those from poor families, and urged the government to address the challenges to ensure learners are not locked out of education because of financial constraints.

The caucus further resolved that there should be coordinated voter mobilisation and registration campaigns across the region, with Members of Parliament expected to take the lead in encouraging residents to register as voters.

The legislators also called on the Energy Ministry to expand electricity coverage to areas that remain unconnected and address what they described as weak and persistent power outages affecting parts of Western Kenya.

Oparanya said the meeting brought together more than 22 MPs, while five others sent apologies after travelling outside the country on official duties.

“We are here with elected leaders and also nominated leaders from Western Kenya to discuss issues concerning our community. We have organised this meeting mainly to look at the current political situation, the development agenda of the region and especially issues of development,” Oparanya said.

He said the caucus would continue holding regular meetings as the region prepares for the next general election, adding that the group would seek to bring on board members of county assemblies and other leaders to strengthen its political mobilisation.

Oparanya said the MPs present had committed themselves to campaigning for President Ruto’s re-election but clarified that individual legislators remained free to pursue their own political ambitions.

“All the leaders you see here are campaigning for His Excellency the President two times. We are fully behind him for his re-election,” he said.

He said the caucus was not currently concerned with individual political seats but was focused on the presidency and the interests of Western Kenya as a region.

“People are going to fight for their own individual seats. They are free. But here, our concern is one for the presidency. Each Member of Parliament has to go and survive on their own, and we shall see a way of now incorporating county governments so that we campaign as a team,” Oparanya said.

The leaders said their push for the Deputy President position was part of a wider strategy to strengthen Western Kenya’s bargaining power and ensure the region secures a senior position in the next administration.

They said the region was also preparing for the political period beyond 2027, with leaders indicating that Western Kenya would seek to position itself for the succession of President Ruto after 2032.

Asked who the region had in mind to take up the Deputy President position, the leaders said they had not settled on an individual, insisting that any suitable leader from the region could be considered.

They further argued that the region’s political strength would depend on its ability to mobilise voters and register more people ahead of the election.

The MPs said Western Kenya had the potential to significantly increase its voter numbers, with leaders calling for an aggressive registration drive across the region