People Daily ePaper

Are Mountain votes up for grabs?

The increase of political vehicles in Mt Kenya is turning the region into a crowded electoral marketplace, a development that could weaken any single candidate’s claim to the region’s vote and potentially hand President William Ruto a crucial advantage...

One Baton. One Challenger. 2027

As the race for the 2027 general election gears momentum, President William Ruto’s quest for a second term is increasingly shaping up as a battle not just between the incumbent and his opponents, but over who can assemble the broadest coalition of...

13.2 Million voters

Aconsolidated western Kenya voting bloc, combined with the collective electoral power of Mt Kenya, Ukambani, Nairobi, Kisii and the Maa community, could present an insurmountable arithmetic wall capable of denying President William Ruto a second term...

The women rewriting Kenya’s 2027 power map

With less than a year to the 2027 General Election, a new crop of women politicians is moving from the political sidelines to the centre of Kenya’s next power struggle, positioning themselves for influential roles that could shape the race for State...

Two camps. One ballot

As the race to the 2027 General Election gathers momentum, a new breed of Kenyan politicians is emerging, those with two political homes. The two abodes include the party they were elected on, and another party that they have supported, some openly...

Inside the 2027 scramble for political survival

Despite the public displays of unity at political rallies and the joint attacks on rivals, behind the scenes politicians are quietly shopping for the best political deals to secure their survival and increase their chances of winning in the 2027...

Who will control these Houses in 2027?

Rivals in the 2027 presidential contest seem to be concentrating their energy on garnering the majority of votes that will enable their flagbearer to clinch victory at the ballot. Notably, as the race starts to take shape, major political alliance...

New outfit, torn fabric

Kenya’s police officers have a new look, but the bigger test for the government is whether Kenyans will experience a new kind of policing. President William Ruto unveiled the new General Duty police uniform on August 28 as more than 6,000 recruits...

Amnesty presses Ruto to match rights pledge with action

Amnesty International Kenya has challenged President William Ruto to translate his recent human rights assurances into concrete action, amid continued concerns over enforced disappearances, police killings and other alleged violations. They however...

Emotional send-off for young teacher killed in cattle rustling attack

An emotional send-off was held at Archers Post in Samburu County for a young secondary school teacher, Dancan Lemaramba, who was killed in what has been described as a retaliatory cattle-rustling attack last week on Friday. The burial brought together...

Why battle for Ruto’s running mate is a high-stakes affair

The puzzle of who will become President William Ruto’s running mate in 2027 remains a weighty political question as he searches for a candidate who can deliver votes and, consequently, help him govern his final term. Politicians jostling for the...

Crafty financiers trapping Kenya into massive avoidable debt

Most private vehicle drivers are careful when they drive along Nairobi’s Kirinyaga Street, wary of hawk-eyed mechanics quick to sell spare parts and services. Typically, if you drive along the street slowly enough to draw attention, a mechanic will...

The hidden debts Ruto doesn’t want you to know about

The affordable housing levy is emerging as one of the government’s biggest cash cows with data from the National Treasury showing Kenyans are contributing up to Ksh6 billion monthly. Treasury is now targeting the levy with plans to securitise it...

No longer the Kingmaker: Gachagua now eyes top spot

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has ended his 55-day political consultations with a clear declaration that he wants to be President of Kenya in 2027. “This afternoon at Wamunyoro Residence, I have engaged young people Gen Z from across the...

Kenya will need more than 100 years to dig itself out of poverty

President William Ruto is betting heavily on Vision 2060 to transform Kenya into a firstworld country within the lifetime of today’s generation. “If we go at the same pace that we are going, Kenya will be a first world country in our lifetime,” Ruto...

Handouts fuel early campaigns as 2027 election race gathers pace

The politics of handouts is taking centre stage in Kenya’s early campaigns, with politicians allied to the government splashing millions of shillings through “empowerment” programmes targeting youth and women groups across the country. The growing...

Why shadowy entities are fighting proposed tobacco legislation

For the last three years, the Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill, 2024 has not moved out of the public participation stage. Three years is a long time for a Bill to be stuck in a single stage. Reason: Little-known lobbies have been shooting from every...

Political parties in scramble for Gen Z votes

Political parties are scrambling to win over Gen Z voters ahead of August 2027 General Elections. The young voters have become a primary focus for political survival with parties taking to Tiktok, memes and Ai-generated content to reach their target...

Why State’s heavy hand is backfiring on Linda Mwananchi

The political calculus in Kenya is shifting rapidly with the State’s monopoly on raw political power facing a severe test. This is after the Linda Mwananchi movement emerged as an aggressive, youth-backed political powerhouse, systematically keeping...

Why ‘goonism’ is greatest threat to Ruto’s re-election bid

As political temperatures rise ahead of the upcoming 2027 General Election, a dark cloud of political “goonism” has descended upon the country. Violent overzealousness from fanatical supporters trying to secure a second term for President William Ruto...

2027: THE VIOLENT REHEARSAL

The ballot box was supposed to be a place of quiet civic duty. Instead, in several of the country’s recent fiercelycontested by-elections, it became a test of raw political muscle. As hooded goons showed up in polling stations in broad daylight and air...

Ruto’s allies turn foes

Hardly a year to the 2027 General Election, the politicians who helped President William Ruto capture power in 2022 are now emerging as his biggest headaches as the succession battle gathers pace. While Ruto relied on a formidable network of political...

Who’s bleeding Kenya dry?

Nairobi’s night sky became a canvas as 500 drones soared above Nyayo National Stadium, painting a spectacular story of Kenyachina friendship, sport, wildlife, infrastructure and trade. For several minutes, the synchronised aerial display transformed...

UDA bleeds, DCP rises

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) is emerging as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the political defections reshaping Kenya’s political landscape ahead of the 2027 General Election. As President...

The coalition that could beat Ruto

An unlikely political coalition bringing together key opposition figures is threatening President William Ruto’s 2027 re-election bid. Despite disagreements that have rocked the opposition in recent past, analysts believe figures like Democracy for...

Is Ruto a temporary Incumbent

The uncertainty surrounding Kenya’s general election following a Malindi High Court ruling has ignited a fresh political storm, forcing a nationwide debate over President William Ruto’s tenure and the true mechanics of constitutional time. The legal...

State House or campaign HQ?

As the 2027 General Election draws closer, State House Nairobi has transformed into the country’s busiest political destination. What was once reserved for moments of critical national importance has become a daily political ritual under President...

NADCO’S executive power push

Former Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has proposed revival of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), arguing that the entire document should not be discarded despite the courts nullifying the constitutional amendment process that sought to implement its...

Ruto: Governing or campaigning?

With one year remaining until the August 10, 2027 General Election, Kenya is already in full campaign mode. President William Ruto, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, and their Cabinet Secretaries have intensified political tours nationwide, defending...

10 COUNTIES THAT WILL DECIDE KENYA’S NEXT PRESIDENT

As political parties position themselves for the 2027 General Election, attention is shifting from traditional strongholds to a handful of battleground counties expected to determine the outcome of the presidential race. While President William Ruto...

Gachagua’s raid on Ruto’s turf

Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) boss Rigathi Gachagua is taking on President William Ruto in his Rift Valley backyard as part of an elaborate plan to expand his party’s popularity beyond Mt Kenya. Gachagua has a series of activities lined up for...

Kalonzo’s last shot

Every serious presidential contender gets a defining election. For former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, that election is 2027. After nearly two decades of sacrificing his own presidential ambitions to support others, the Wiper Party leader has...

Gachagua’s comeback

Recent remarks by former Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria have only added fuel to that debate. “I will vote for Riggy G if he proves me wrong and ends up on the ballot. Challenge given,” Kuria posted on X. Coming from a politician whose...

The Bill That Could Shake Kenya’s Economy

Acontroversial bill that seeks tough controls for foreign firms that want to do business in Kenya is taking centrestage in parliament while drawing wide criticism from economic experts. The Local Content Bill 2025, which has been mooted by Laikipia...

Ruto’s Mount Kenya Fightback

As the race to the 2027 General Election gathers pace, President William Ruto has come up with a series of political strategies aimed at reclaiming a share of the Mt Kenya vote following the setback suffered by his United Democratic Alliance (UDA)...

Ruto’s Headache

President William Ruto is facing fresh political challenge as Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua intensify campaigns in regions that overwhelmingly backed his 2022 presidential bid. While Gachagua has gone ahead...

Sifuna rocks Ruto, Opposition

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna’s populist stance has placed him right in the centre of Kenyan politics. Analysts observe that Sifuna’s continued constructive criticism of President William Ruto’s administration over governance, high cost of living and...

Who will face Ruto?

With just over a year to the 2027 General Election, Kenya’s political landscape is rapidly taking shape as leaders reposition themselves, forge new alliances and test their influence ahead of what promises to be a fiercely contested presidential...

Friends to Foes

Personal ambition, succession politics, ideological differences and shifting political alliances are to blame for the current fallout among politicians who were once close allies, barely a year to the 2027 General election. From the presidency to MPS,...

Why allies want Gachagua to run

The emphatic victory by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s party in the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election has not only altered the opposition’s internal dynamics, but has strengthened his claim as the coalition’s most influential mobiliser as well as...

Race for Kindiki seat after UDA loss

For Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, the outcome of the Ol Kalou by-election should serve as an early warning, especially now when a number of individuals have openly expressed interest in the position he is currently holding. Despite reportedly...

Meet Gachagua’s political generals

The runaway victory clinched by Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) in the recent Ol Kalou by-election has reshaped the politics of Mt Kenya region, by handing former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua his biggest electoral victory since falling out with...

Ol Kalou gives Gachagua edge as Ruto regroups

“I am grateful to the people of Ol Kalou for accepting to add me an extra solider to join the great army that I lead in Defense of Kenyans. I have been struggling with 18 soldiers but with great results; now I have 19, things will be much better.”...

Wantam?

At daybreak on Thursday, overwhelming voter turnout, scenes of elderly voters being escorted to polling stations, amid dramatic online allegations of voter bribery and claims of other electoral malpractices turned the Ol Kalou by-election into far more...

The vote that could shape Ruto and Gachagua’s 2027 race

Apolitical contest between President William Ruto and his former deputy Rigathi Gachagua takes centre stage today as voters in Ol Kalou head to the polls in a by-election that has become a crucial test of who commands the loyalty of the vote-rich Mt...

President’s love for lavish State lodges, fine dining belies his‘hustler’talk

NO.08620

President Ruto, end the goon violence now

President William Ruto is once again on the spot to step in and stop the increasing incidents of organised political violence across the country, before the situation becomes ungovernable. As the Head of State and Government President Ruto took the...

Nyota Fund: Youth face harsh economic realities, collapse

When Ksh22,000 from the National Youth Opportunities towards Advancement (Nyota) Fund dropped into her M-pesa account, Joyce Kifalu thought she had received a lifeline. Eager to change her fortunes, the Mombasa resident hit the ground running,...

Ol Kalou mini-poll exposes money grip in Kenya’s elections

The Ol Kalou by-election has raised concerns over how money factor is the biggest influence in Kenyan elections, as rival camps have deployed unprecedented financial resources, sent top officials and offered voters goodies to voters in a bid to have...

The Ruto Strategy

President William Ruto is leveraging promised 2032 presidential endorsements to secure his 2027 re-election and stabilise his broad-based coalition. President Ruto, who is seeking a second term in office, has promised Deputy Kithure Kindiki, Prime...

Are Cabinet Secretaries Ruto’s new campaign machine?

The heavy deployment of Cabinet Secretaries in the Ol Kalou parliamentary byelection campaigns has renewed debate over whether President William Ruto is relying on members of the Executive to spearhead his re-election bid ahead of the 2027 General...

Arrests and travel chaos

Tension remained high in Nairobi Central Business District (CBD) as police nabbed tens of demonstrators during the Saba Saba Day protests. There was high presence of security personnel, in police vehicles and others with private number plates, to...

Opposition rift deepens over 2027 flagbearer

Kenyans may have to wait longer to know the united opposition’s official presidential torchbearer as 2027 General Election beckons. Opposition leadership continues to face mounting internal and public pressure regarding delays in naming a flagbearer...

Kenya’s 2027 vote: When clout beats policy

Anxiety mounts over possible Cabinet shake-up

The future of broad-based government hangs in the balance after the High Court ruled composition of the current Cabinet violated the two-thirds gender rule as provided for in the constitution. Analysts believe the landmark ruling, delivered by a...

The Wamunyoro pilgrimage: Unlikely visitors signal 2027 realignment

Like him or hate him, there is no denying that former DP Rigathi Gachagua is a brilliant politician. While critics raised eyebrows when he stepped back from the hurly-burly of heated politics and moved to his quiet home of Wamunyoro in Nyeri County,...

How youth vote could save, sink big names in 2027

The rising electoral engagement and boldness of the millennial generation and Gen Z has rattled the political establishment. Gen Z and millennials’ force is shifting the political discourse toward issuebased demands, a paradigm shift from obvious...

Fresh abductions cast a shadow over Ruto’s presidency

Details President William Ruto’s legacy is being shrouded in a new wave of alleged State-sponsored disappearances, abductions and other human rights abuses. Several families have expressed fear after their loved ones went missing during June 25...

Kenya’s retirees time bomb

Longer lives should be a national success story, but country faces a growing retirement disaster, with experts warning that up to 80 per cent of workers risk old-age poverty as pension deductions go unremitted, savings remain low and welfare support...

Exposed: The budget loopholes hiding government wastage

On Tuesday this week, President William Ruto o˜cially assented to the Appropriations Bill, alongside the Finance Act, at State House, Nairobi. Walking with the majesty of a man who is in total control of his government’s financial destiny, the...

PARALYSIS City blockaded

The country woke up to a sealed Nairobi City as police moved to control Gen Z protestors trying to gain access to the capital’s Central Business District, on a day that planned demonstrations across Kenya fizzled out in most towns. Shops, schools,...

Tension builds as nation braces for Gen Z protests

As Kenya approaches the anniversary of the historic June 25, 2024 Gen Z protests, the country finds itself revisiting one of the most defining moments in its recent political history. For many young Kenyans, June 25 is no longer just another date on...

The economic cost of political unrest in Kenya

Thursday June 25, 2026 is a day most Kenyans, especially those who work or run businesses in Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD), are wary of. The tension in Nairobi City is palpable. “I am a hair stylist. I work in a salon in Tom Mboya street....

Finance Bill fallout: MPS risk rejection in 2027

A political storm is gathering for 186 lawmakers who skipped the crucial Budget vote, with critics warning their absence could haunt them at the ballot box. As public anger grows, some lawmakers are scrambling to explain why they missed a session many...

Governors mount early defence of Ruto’s 2027 bid

Drawn from diverse regions, these county chiefs are the incumbent’s point persons, using their county-wide political structures to mobilise support across vast areas and defend the President against an increasingly rampant united opposition

Shame of wasted taxpayer billions as Kenyans face hardships

The rising cost of running government has come under renewed scrutiny as millions of Kenyans grapple with high cost of living, increased taxation and shrinking household incomes. Despite repeated pledges by the government to cut expenditure and...

Ruto loyalists close ranks ahead of high-stakes 2027 showdown

Hardly a year to the 2027 general election, President William Ruto’s loyal political allies have intensified efforts to defend his administration against growing criticism over the high cost of living, controversial taxes and rising youth...

Feeding the Monster: Dark evolution of State-backed goons

As dawn breaks over the sweltering port city of Mombasa, groups of young men are already positioning themselves at some of the busiest matatu stages in Likoni, Changamwe, Kisauni, and Tudor. Amidst the buzzing morning traffic — a chaotic rush of...

Why Kenyans may wait years for Ruto’s flagship projects

President William Ruto is determined to have Kenyans smiling next year as the General Election nears if the number of huge projects he has lined up is anything to go by. Last week, the president, through Finance Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, unveiled...

Ruto’s 2027 playbook: The political power of State funds

The fund provides affordable, mobile-based credit, promoting entrepreneurship and savings for citizens who are historically excluded from formal financial systems A government initiative designed to support youth through business financing, mentorship...

Algorithms and Deepfakes: The digital battle for Kenya’s 2027 vote

When William Ruto mounted his successful presidential bid in 2022, his chief digital strategist, Dennis Itumbi, built an online communications outfit known as the Hustler Nation Intelligence Bureau. The platform grew into a powerful digital network...

How the State gives with one hand, takes with the other

It is difficult running a small business in Kenya. If it is not the high operating costs that are gnawing you to the bone, then it’s the complex tax regulations, such as ETIMS compliance, and limited access to affordable credit. Normally, the...

Ksh 3.6trn Ksh 43.6b Grants

Total revenue