Sixty-three years after independence, is Kenya any closer to sharing its wealth fairly? On this edition of Jeff Koinange Live, Jeff put that question to four leaders who see the answer very differently: Gladys Boss Shollei (MP, Uasin Gishu), Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka, Kirinyaga MP Njeri Maina and Uriri MP Mark Nyamita.
Shollei opened with the government's case. She pointed to roads reaching Garissa, Wajir and Mandera, new stadiums from Nandi to Homa Bay, county markets with cold rooms, fish landing sites on Lake Victoria and subsidised fertiliser. In her view, President Ruto "is the first president to deliberately address the issue of inequity."
The rest of the bench was not convinced. Onyonka traced the problem back to Sessional Paper No. 10, which steered investment towards so-called viable regions, and argued that the 2010 Constitution's promise of equity and inclusivity is still waiting to be kept. "Politics is about interests and fears," he told Jeff.
Nyamita brought the receipts from the lakeside. Migori grows most of the region's tobacco, he said, yet the factories that add value were incentivised elsewhere. Universities, national schools and port jobs followed the same pattern. His verdict: on equity, Kenya is "still on a long journey."
Njeri Maina went further, calling the government's new equity language a campaign narrative now that, in her words, "the hustler narrative has failed to work." She pressed Shollei on affordable housing numbers and on how CDF money is shared between crowded and sparsely populated constituencies.
The sharpest exchange came over the figures: how many housing units have actually been handed over, and whether fertiliser output reached 44 million bags. Jeff then closed Part 1 with the question that set up the second half: in 63 years, only two communities have produced a president. What about the other 40-plus?
With the 2027 election in view, this is the debate every region will be having. Watch Part 1 above.
Continue with Part 2 on Citizen TV.
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