Kisii County Senator Richard Onyonka disclosed that former Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i plans to work alongside Martha Karua, Kalonzo Musyoka, and Rigathi Gachagua in the 2027 elections.
Speaking on Thursday, February 27, 2027, at the launch of Martha Karua’s People’s Liberation Party, Onyonka stated that while Matiang’i is interested in running for president, he is also open to backing any opposition leader chosen as the coalition’s flagbearer.
“Honourable Fred Matiang’i is finishing his work in the next month, and he will be here to join you. He wishes all of you the best; he hopes you will give him the chance to serve as the president.
“But if he does not become the president, he is willing to work with you and support whoever this group picks as the presidential candidate,” Onyonka said.
The senator also took aim at President William Ruto’s administration, arguing that its policies are failing the country.
“We now have a four-trillion-shilling budget, yet Parliament serves the executive, and 90 percent of MPs and senators have been bought. Meanwhile, you have this four trillion budget, which is supposed to give our people health services; it is dead,” he said.
Onyonka further alleged that the Affordable Housing project has turned into a massive corruption scheme.
“Instead of the government building where these kids stay because they pay, the government is building a place where the president and his friends are sharing the loot by supplying the cement; they take public land, and they supply chuma and kokotos and mchanga,” he claimed.
He questioned the integrity of the program, highlighting discrepancies in the reported progress.
“They promised to build 200,000 houses, yet the Auditor General’s report confirms that only 5,000 have been completed. The rest? No one knows where they are,” he stated.
He also criticized the state of higher education, blaming the government for underfunding universities and neglecting vulnerable students.
“You have the education system on its knees. Why? Because university funding does not reach those who need it most. You have a government that is actually doing something called affordable housing, but in the universities, our students leave in the slums,” Onyonka added.
Onyonka also raised concerns about the lack of transparency regarding key national assets.
“We live in a country where we don’t even know who owns the Port of Mombasa or Lamu Port,” he remarked.
