Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has confirmed that he will not be contesting any elective position in the 2027 General Elections, including the Homa Bay gubernatorial seat that some reports had linked him to.
Speaking during the Privatisation and People's Budget Dialogue on Friday, January 16, Mbadi dismissed claims that his origins outside Homa Bay would bar him from politics there. He emphasised that his focus remains on serving the nation in his current role at the Treasury.
“I was originally born and raised in Migori. However, that should not make them tell me that I should not vie for the Homa Bay County gubernatorial race. Even so, I want to clarify that I am not interested in becoming Homa Bay County Governor,” Mbadi stated.
The Homa Bay County gubernatorial seat is expected to attract intense political interest, with incumbent Governor Gladys Wanga aiming to retain her position at the helm of the devolved unit.
At the same time, tensions around the Homa Bay leadership have intensified. Deputy Governor Oyugi Magwanga recently referred to Governor Wanga as a “one-term governor” and vowed to oppose her reelection bid.
Magwanga criticised Wanga’s leadership, accusing her administration of mismanaging county affairs, struggling to pay contractors, and failing to meet basic operational needs in county offices.
“Wanga is a one-term governor, and her time is up. I sacrificed for you to be governor, but you are very ungrateful. Now it is time for payback,” he declared.
Magwanga also alleged that Wanga relied on intervention from influential leaders—including Mama Ngina Kenyatta, former President Uhuru Kenyatta, Charity Ngilu, Martha Karua, Fred Matiang’i, and Francis Atwoli—who pressured Raila Odinga to endorse her candidacy.
He claimed that Ngilu and Karua framed Wanga’s candidacy as a gender issue, compelling Raila to force other aspirants to step down in her favour.
Meanwhile, Mbadi has also refuted claims that the government intends to cut the budgetary allocation for the education sector in the 2026/2027 financial year.
He maintained that education will actually see an increase of about Ksh150 billion to support higher education funding and university scholarships.
“To claim that we are defunding education is being economical with the truth. We have proposed an increase to the education sector,” Mbadi said, appealing to the public to review the draft 2026 budget policy statement and submit their views to the Treasury.
Mbadi urged citizens to engage with the budget process to avoid last-minute accusations of budget alterations that have plagued past discussions.
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