Cabinet Secretary for Co-operatives and MSMEs Development, Dr. Wycliffe Oparanya, has made a strikingly candid admission — campaigning for President William Ruto in Western Kenya is about as welcome as selling pork in Saudi Arabia.
For context, pork is strictly forbidden in Saudi Arabia. Anyone found selling or consuming it is considered to have committed blasphemy against Allah, an offense that carries the harshest of consequences under Islamic tradition. Oparanya did not choose that comparison by accident.
Speaking on Saturday, the CS—who is among five Orange Democratic Movement leaders who were absorbed into the broad-based cabinet following the explosive Gen Z protests that shook the country in June 2024—said that anyone associated with Ruto is finding it increasingly difficult to sell his re-election bid to voters in the region ahead of 2027.
Oparanya pointed the finger squarely at the President himself, accusing Ruto of betraying Western Kenya by stripping key leaders from the region of their House committee positions. That move, he said, has turned the electorate firmly against the current government and left ODM cabinet appointees in an almost impossible political position on the ground.
His remarks come at a particularly delicate moment, with a National Intelligence Service poll allegedly indicating that if a presidential election were held today, Ruto would lose heavily to the united opposition currently rallying behind former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
Sudi Makes a Jaw-Dropping Threat
Not everyone in the Ruto camp, however, appears rattled by the polls or the growing political headwinds.
Kapsaret Member of Parliament Oscar Sudi came out swinging with a statement that is already turning heads and raising serious alarm. Sudi declared that even if Ruto loses the 2027 presidential election, they will simply rig the votes in his favour to ensure he wins and serves a full ten years—just like former President Uhuru Kenyatta and the late former President Mwai Kibaki before him.
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