‘Gave him relief food for voters’ MP Owen Baya begs Magarini aspirant Stanley Kenga to reconsider UDA

The Magarini by-election took a dramatic turn this week as aspirant Stanley Kenga abandoned the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) for the Democratic Congress Party (DCP). Kilifi North MP Owen Baya didn’t hold back in his criticism, accusing Kenga of biting the hand that fed him.

“I gave Stanley Kenga relief food to distribute in Magarini every end of the month. Now he is repaying by jumping to DCP. The government has used resources to make him popular,” Baya fumed during a roadside rally in Kilifi.

Baya’s outburst came just days after Kenga’s official flag-off by DCP leader Rigathi Gachagua. The former Deputy President, now steering his new party, hailed Kenga as a fresh voice for coastal development.

Supporters cheered as Kenga vowed to fight for fishermen and farmers long ignored by big-party politics. The by-election, set for November 27, 2025, stems from the tragic court ruling of former MP Harrison Kombe Garama.

Kombe, an ODM stalwart, left a vacuum in the coastal constituency plagued by poverty and erratic rains. UDA and ODM had struck a broad-based deal, now presenting themselves as the joint candidate to avoid a messy split.

But Kenga, a local businessman with deep roots in Magarini’s fishing communities, felt sidelined. Sources close to him say UDA brass pressured him to step aside, promising future perks that never materialised.

“It was betrayal pure and simple,” one aide whispered off-record. Kenga’s switch to DCP, Gachagua’s anti-establishment outfit, positions him as a wildcard in the race. Baya, a vocal UDA defender in the region, sees red over the defection.

He recounted how his office funnelled emergency aid through Kenga during last year’s floods, building his profile as a community fixer. “We invested in him, not for this circus,” Baya told reporters, his voice rising with coastal flair.

Locals nodded along, some chuckling at the irony of a man once touted as UDA’s rising star now cosying up to Gachagua. In a twist that’s got everyone talking, UDA bigwigs are now scrambling to lure Kenga back.

Party insiders leaked that emissaries approached him over the weekend, floating a deal to run on the UDA ticket against Broadbased. “We’re family; let’s not burn bridges,” one senior figure reportedly pleaded.

Kenga’s camp dismissed the overtures as too little, too late, but whispers suggest negotiations could drag on. This flip-flop highlights deeper cracks in Kenya’s coastal politics. Magarini, with its sandy beaches and struggling cashew farms, has long been a battleground for national heavyweights.

Aisha Jumwa, the fiery former Malindi MP and UDA loyalist, threw her weight behind the consensus early on, warning against “selfish adventurers”. Kenga’s popularity, fuelled by those very relief drives, makes him a tough out.

UDA is begging the DCP candidate to vie in Magharini Constituency on a UDA ticket! pic.twitter.com/hkXlDMp8Js

— The Kenyan Vigilante (@KenyanSays) October 7, 2025

Gachagua, sidelined after his impeachment drama last year, smells opportunity. Launching Kenga at a packed DCP headquarters in Nairobi, he slammed UDA as a “club for the elite”.

“Magarini deserves a son who won’t sell out,” he declared, drawing cheers from youth waving Mt Kenya flags alongside Swahili banners. Analysts say this alliance could syphon votes from both UDA-ODM and pure ODM hardliners.

On the ground, reactions are mixed. Fishermen in the village praised Kenga’s hands-on style, recalling how he fixed boat engines during tough times. “Owen talks big, but Stanley delivers,” said Juma Ali, mending nets under the midday sun.