National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula has publicly assured President William Ruto that the entire Luhya community stands solidly behind him and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, declaring that all Luhya voters will deliver their votes to Ruto in the 2027 General Election.
Speaker Wetangula said, “Waluhya wote wako nyuma yangu na Mudavadi, na wameamua Ruto ndiye watapigia kura 2027. Mimi ndiyo kingpin wenu,” the Speaker declared in fluent Luhya before switching to Swahili and English for emphasis, drawing thunderous applause and ululations from women draped in Kenya Kwanza scarves.
Wetangula continued, saying, “You have given Luhya people two of the most powerful seats in government. Musalia is your Prime Cabinet Secretary; I am Speaker of the National Assembly. What more do our people want? 2027 is sealed.”
Political analysts say the move is a calculated attempt to consolidate the Luhya vote, which has historically been split among multiple presidential candidates. In 2022, the community shared votes between Ruto (roughly 38 per cent), Raila Odinga (45 per cent) and Musalia Mudavadi’s ANC (around 12 per cent). A unified bloc would deliver close to 2.8 million votes, making it one of the largest single-ethnic voting blocs after Kikuyu and Luo.
“No single person owns Luhya votes. 2027 tutapima nguvu kwa sanduku, sio mikutano,“ ”” DAP-K leader Eugene Wamalwa also added that Wetangula was “daydreaming” and reminded voters that Mudavadi once promised to deliver Luhya votes to Raila in 2013 and 2017 but failed.
With exactly 19 months to the election, Wetangula’s dramatic kingpin declaration has thrown the first major salvo in the battle for Western Kenya, signalling that the race for the region’s crucial votes is now officially a two-horse affair between the Kenya Kwanza duo of Ruto-Mudavadi-Wetangula and the opposition formation.
