Embakasi East MP Babu Owino has issued a scathing response to Kericho Senator and Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot over claims that he is unfit to lead Nairobi County because he was not born in the city.
In a video message on Wednesday, August 13, Babu affirmed that although he came to Nairobi by bus, he would address every problem created by those born in the city over the years.
He further suggested that the senator’s remarks were ill-informed and painted him as simple-minded.
“There is Nairobi by birth, and there is Nairobi by bus. Those who came by bus will ensure that the challenges of drainage and poor roads are fixed, challenges of water are fixed, challenges of garbage are fixed, challenges of unemployment are fixed, challenges of fees for our children are fixed by giving them bursaries, challenges of poor medication are fixed,” the MP declared.
"Those who came by birth, or rather those who were born in Nairobi, have left Nairobi, a place that cannot be admired. They have left it like a cemetery of graft, incompetence, poor services, theft, and a worse environment for doing business, and therefore, you can judge for yourself," Babu Owino stated.
Owino was responding to remarks made by Cheruiyot a few weeks ago, claiming the MP could not win the Nairobi governorship because he could not connect with the city’s residents.
"Babu Owino wasn't born in Nairobi. He doesn't connect well with the people of Nairobi; therefore, he can't be governor. Nairobi has its owners," Cheruiyot said on July 31 on Ghetto Radio.
The senator expressed his support for the current governor, Johnson Sakaja, in the upcoming race.
Cheruiyot argued that while Nairobi was a diverse city with residents from all over the country, only those born and bred in the city truly understood its problems.
For example, he claimed that only those who moved to Nairobi in adulthood opposed the affordable housing programme, while those born in the city understood the challenges of entire families sharing a single room divided by curtains.
"You will see someone in Parliament opposing the project, although it is addressing a very basic need, which is housing. If you have not experienced these things, you cannot understand the plight of Nairobi residents," he added.
"Someone was born and raised in Bungoma and Kisumu, but if he vies in Nairobi, you vote for him because he is from your tribe, yet he will not connect with you. Elect someone who identifies with you."
The Nairobi gubernatorial race is expected to attract several contenders, including Babu Owino, current governor Johnson Sakaja, Democratic for Citizens Party (DCP) Nairobi patron Irungu Nyakera, and Embakasi North MP James Gakuya, among others.
