Eugene Wamalwa eyes presidency in 2027

Eugene Wamalwa is the first politician to publicly declare his intention to contest for the presidency in the 2027 elections. Wamalwa who served as a powerful Cabinet Secretary during former president Uhuru Kenyatta's regime made the announcement at a press briefing on Wednesday, December 14, 2022. He said: "We've had an engaging chat with our party leadership and decided that DAP-K party will field a presidential candidate in 2027. I'm truly honoured my colleagues have requested me to take up that role," he explained. "I have a decade-long experience as a Cabinet Secretary and will be coming back to active politics from January 1, 2023, after a short break." Wamalwa, who headed the Ministries of Devolution and Defence, also backed his DAP-K party to serve the interests of Western Kenya. "We are the future in Western because the Amani National Congress (ANC) and Ford-Kenya have been captured in Kenya Kwanza and will not be able to field a presidential candidate (in 2027)." ANC and Ford-Kenya parties, headed by Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetangula respectively, are part of President Ruto's Kenya Kwanza administration. The two leaders are thus unlikely to vie for the presidency in 2027 considering the Head of State will be seeking his second term. At the briefing, DAP-K secretary Eseli Simiyu accused independent bodies of singing to the tune of President William Ruto's administration instead of discharging their roles. "The Judiciary, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), and Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commision (IEBC) are now dancing to the tune of the executive which has led to the withdrawal of economic crimes against a chosen few. This leaves us in a dangerous situation," said Simiyu. Eseli has also accused the government of attempting to introduce 'dangerous' constitutional changes. "The Kenya Kwanza government has opted to prioritize constitutional changes over economic recovery. Some of the changes are the same that were proposed in the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) but this same government rejected them at the time," said Eseli. DAP-K has also demanded a full inquiry on the goings on at IEBC during the August 2022 polls. The said inquiry should focus on the valid voter register, procurement of election-related material, and management of the polls. Also read: LGBTQ activist Makena Njeri changes her name to Chris Muriithi Five times MP Peter Salasya clout-chased and people fell for it Senior police officer in trouble over leaked letter on potential terror attack in Nairobi