The outspoken Embakasi East MP Babu Owino is laying the ground to go for Nairobi gubernatorial seat in the 2027 general elections.
Azimo top-brass led by Raila Odinga and his Wiper counterpart Kalonzo Musyoka have held meetings and agreed that they will back the controversial lawmaker for the city top seat in the next general polls.
Raila will be backing Kalonzo for presidency in 2027 to return favor after the former vice president backed him for presidency in 2013, 2017 and 2022 without success.
Odinga switched Kalonzo with Martha Karua as his running in the 2022 polls despite the Wiper leader delivering more than 95% of the Kamba votes to him in the 2013 and 2017 polls.
The Azimio plan includes having Babu being deputized by either a Somali or Kikuyu while the coalition’s Nairobi senatorial seat ticket will go to a Luhya, the current ODM SG Edwin Sifuna and the woman representative ticket will go to either a Kikuyu or Kisii.
Raila is confident that Babu Owino will beat the current Nairobi Johnson Sakaja. He argues that being Luo, Babu will win the backing of his community and the backing of Kambas because he will be supporting Kalonzo’s presidential bid.
Somalis will also be absorbed through the deputy slot and then be instructed to throw their weight behind Babu. The coalitions is also scheming to win the Luhya community by challenging President William Ruto to name either Musalia Mudavadi or Moses Wetang’ula as his running mate in 2027.
But Azimio throwing their weighnt behind Babu Owino will also break Westlands MP Tim Wanyonyi’s heart. His ODM party forced him to shelve his gubernatorial ambitions for Polycarp Igathe in 2022 but wants Odinga to back him in 2027.
Babu’s main challenge is expected to the deep pocketed Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry(KNCCI) boss Richard Ngatia whose candidature will walk away with the massive Kikuyu votes. The youthful politician is currently mobilizing Azimio followers in Nairobi to attend protests staged by Mzee Odinga.
He led Nairobi Azimio leaders in mobilising supporters to attend Kamukunji, Jacaranda and Kibera anti-Ruto rallies that were attended by Odinga.
And Owino is the only ODM MP who has guts to challenge former president Uhuru Kenyatta to drop his role as peace envoy in DRC and join Azimio in planning chaos and Mass Action.
“The first person to be employed in this country by Ruto was who? Uhuru. Would you employ your enemy as a peacekeeper?” he paused.
He wants to see Uhuru in Azimio rallies and demonstrations if the former head of state really means business being in Azimio.
“If you want to see the genuineness of all this, Uhuru should resign and come to our demonstrations and say tibim and tialala. Without that we are not kids,” Owino said.
He made the remarks prior to Azimio rallies in Kamukunji, Kibera and the many that Uhuru has never bothered to attend.
Experts argue that if Raila backs him for Nairobi’s top job, Babu will be assured of some 400,000 Luo votes. He will also capture the heart of Kambas and start ahead in the 2027 race.
The vocal politician is expected to poke holes on Sakaja and Ngatia’s fake academic papers.
Ngatia was blocked from Nairobi’s Gubernatorial race over fake academic credentials.
One Naairobi resident filled a petition with the party claiming that Ngatia doesn’t have a degree and the one he is holding is not from a university recognized in Kenya.
Sakaja’s degree also elicited controversy after a voter, Dennis Wahome, filed a petition questioning the authenticity of his academic papers.
