Mudavadi unveils Magharibi Movement to rally Western Kenya behind Ruto, plan beyond 2027

KAKAMEGA, Kenya, Aug 16 — Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has launched a voter registration drive targeting an additional 500,000 voters in Western Kenya ahead of the 2027 General Election, as the region seeks to strengthen its bargaining power in national politics. Mudavadi said the initiative will target Kakamega, Bungoma, Vihiga, Busia and Trans Nzoia counties, with a goal of raising the region’s registered voters from about 2.9 million to at least 3.4 million by January 2027. “Siasa ni numbers (politics is about numbers),” he declared on Saturday.

Mudavadi said Western Kenya must close the registration gap with other high-population regions, citing Kakamega as an example. “Kakamega County is a critical voter bloc in Western Kenya. We are lagging behind Nairobi and Kiambu in national voter registration.

We must pull up our socks,” he said. According to IEBC figures cited by Mudavadi, Kakamega has more than 952,000 registered voters, followed by Bungoma with about 720,000, Busia with 456,000, Vihiga with 334,000 and Trans Nzoia with about 445,000. Mudavadi said the mobilisation would involve working with IEBC officials at grassroots political gatherings to encourage eligible residents to register.

At all our political gatherings especially at the grassroots, we want to liaise with IEBC officials so that they can be there to register voters,” he said. ‘Slogans do not vote’ Mudavadi warned supporters against confusing political mobilisation and large rallies with actual electoral strength, insisting that victory would ultimately depend on registered voters turning out on election day. “Elections shall not be won by slogans.

Slogans do not vote and do not win elections,” he said. He challenged members of the Magharibi Movement to begin the registration campaign within their own families by identifying young people who have obtained national identity cards but have not registered as voters. “One of our missions is to find, starting from your own house, how many of your children who have ID cards and have not yet registered to vote in 2027,” he said.

Mudavadi linked the voter registration drive to the political objectives of the newly launched Magharibi Movement, which seeks to mobilise Western Kenya behind President William Ruto’s administration and his 2027 re-election bid. Magharibi Movement to lead Ruto’s re-elect… KAKAMEGA, Kenya, Aug 15 — Leaders from Western Kenya have launched the Magharibi Movement, a regional lobby group aimed at consolidating the region’s political influence, rallying support for President William Ruto’s re-election in 2027 and positioning Western Kenya for the 2032 succession.