National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula has stepped up campaigns for president William Ruto’s re-election, urging women in Bungoma County to lead voter registration efforts and mobilize residents behind the Kenya Kwanza administration ahead of the 2027 general election.

Speaking at the Mabanga Farmers Training Centre in Kanduyi Constituency on Monday, Wetang’ula argued that the government had delivered key development projects in Bungoma and deserved another term to complete its agenda.

The meeting brought together women from Bungoma’s nine constituencies and several elected leaders, including governor Kenneth Lusaka, MPs John Chikati, John Makali, Martin Pepela and Fred Kapondi.

Nominated senator Consolata Nabwire Wakwabubi and Bungoma Woman Representative Catherine Wambilianga also attended.

Wetang’ula cited the reduction in the price of subsidized fertiliser as one of the administration’s main achievements, saying the intervention had lowered production costs for farmers.

“We promised during our campaigns to reduce the price of fertiliser from Sh7,500 to Sh2,500, and the President has already fulfilled that promise,” he said.

He also defended the government’s decision to lease Nzoia Sugar Company, maintaining that the arrangement had revived milling operations and improved payments to cane farmers.

The leasing of state-owned sugar factories has attracted criticism from some political leaders, unions and stakeholders who have questioned the transparency of the process and the protection of public assets.

Wetang’ula, however, dismissed the criticism, saying opponents were exploiting the sugar industry for political gain.

“When we were campaigning, Nzoia Sugar Company was completely dead. Farmers would deliver cane and wait for up to two years to be paid. Today, the land is being cultivated, cane is being milled and farmers are being paid on time,” he said.

“Those opposing the revival are not cane farmers. They are simply using the sugar industry as a political tool.”

The speaker listed several national government projects in Bungoma, including a passport application centre, the construction of Masinde Muliro Stadium in Kanduyi, modern markets and a proposed Level Six Teaching and Referral Hospital.

He said the hospital would be established at the Kenya Medical Training College’s Sichei campus through a Sh10 billion financing package.

Wetang’ula also said the government had allocated Sh7 billion in the current financial year to begin expanding the Malaba-Webuye-Eldoret section of the Northern Corridor highway.

He described the road as a critical regional trade route whose expansion would ease congestion, improve the movement of goods and reduce accidents.

“Contractors working from the Nairobi side will eventually meet those beginning from Malaba, completing the dual carriageway linking Mombasa to the Uganda border,” he said.

The Speaker further announced that the planned extension of the Standard Gauge Railway would pass through western Kenya on its way to Malaba, with Mianga designated as the station serving Bungoma County.

“The SGR did not end in Naivasha. President Ruto’s administration is extending it through Narok, Kisumu, Luanda, Butere, Mumias, Bumula and finally Malaba,” Wetang’ula said.

“Bungoma residents will board the train at Mianga and travel to Nairobi in about four hours.”

Turning to the 2027 contest, Wetang’ula urged the women to become ambassadors for Ruto’s re-election and help eligible residents acquire national identity cards and register as voters.

“We want you mothers to be our ambassadors. Encourage young people to acquire identity cards and register as voters,” he said.

“Let us ensure every eligible voter is registered.”

Wetang’ula declared that the women attending the meeting had resolved to back Ruto for a second term, describing the position as the “Mabanga Declaration.”

“The train has already left the station. The mothers of Bungoma are on board, and we want President Ruto to secure a second term,” he said.

He argued that Ruto should be allowed to serve two terms, as other Kenyan presidents had done.

“We have had presidents who served 10 years, 15 years and even 24 years. Why should president William Ruto, who is transforming the country, be denied a second term?” he posed.

Asked whether the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission was investigating the Speaker over his political activities, EACC chief executive Mohamud Abdi said the agency had not received evidence establishing wrongdoing.

Abdi said the commission did not have evidence demonstrating that Wetang’ula had violated the law by participating in politics.

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