Embakasi East Member of Parliament Babu Owino is gaining popularity in the race for the 2027 Nairobi governor race, particularly among young people, a new survey has revealed.
The survey, conducted by ISS Africa across Nairobi's 17 constituencies, placed Babu Owino ahead of governor Johnson Sakaja in the tier of most popular aspirants in the Nairobi gubernatorial race.
According to the report, Babu Owino enjoyed a 28.1 per cent support from Nairobi residents, compared to Sakaja, whose support stood at 16.4 per cent.
At least 1063 voters were interviewed across 17 constituencies through a random, multi-staged sampling method, with the findings suggesting a generational shift in Nairobi politics.
DCP Patron, Nairobi Irungu Nyakera also appears to be gaining popularity in the city, with the report suggesting he is marginally ahead of Sakaja in popularity with 19.2 per cent.
Embakasi North Member of Parliament James Gakuya is also an outside contender in the popularity contest in Nairobi according to the survey, with 11.2 per cent of Nairobians, mostly his constituents, favouring him.
If the report is anything to go by, Babu Owino enjoys huge support from the Gen-Z, aged between 18-24, with 62 per cent saying they would elect him for governor.
Babu Owino’s support mainly stems from the Eastlands area, where his constituency is located, with 32 per cent of adults aged between 25 and 32 backing him.
The youthful leader, who is part of a subtle new-look outfit dubbed Kenya Moja, has however gained traction since he announced he would contest for Nairobi’s top job, with or without a ticket from his parent party ODM.
Sakaja, meanwhile, is mostly backed by people who support President William Ruto’s broad-based government, while Nyakera’s support stems from supporters of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and his Democracy for Citizens’ Party (DCP).
Sakaja Impeachment Motion
Nairobi’s political landscape has experienced key changes in recent months, with the most recent controversy involving Members of the County Assembly’s attempt to impeach Governor Sakaja over alleged undelivered promises.
Sakaja, who defended his development record, cited standoffs over bursaries and ward-based programmes as some of the reasons why MCAs wanted him gone.
On bursaries, Sakaja explained that MCAs faulted the stalled bursary allocation that had affected the education status of many pupils within the county. However, the Governor disclosed that there was a ban on the bursary allocation, thus causing the distribution hitch.
Despite the hitch, Sakaja noted that in the three years he had been in office, his county had distributed Ksh1.6 billion in bursaries, vis-a-vis the Ksh3 billion distributed by previous governors.
