Ruto team ups scramble for Northeastern in 2027 charm offensive

President William Ruto signing the Presidential Proclamation on Registration and Issuance of IDs to Border Counties at Orahey Grounds in Wajir Town on February 5, 2025./PCS

President William Ruto’s administration has intensified efforts to consolidate the Northeastern region, comprising Marsabit, Mandera, Isiolo, Garissa and parts of Upper Eastern.

This is through a multi-pronged strategy focusing on security, infrastructure and political inclusion, with Kenya Kwanza showing signs of a bid to address historical marginalisation.

As the 2027 elections loom, the government appears keen on addressing development concerns while countering security threats and boosting economic prospects.

Keen on cementing its political foothold ahead of the 2027 elections, Kenya Kwanza is pulling out all the stops to integrate the long-neglected region into the nation’s political mainstream.

Pundits observe that the push into Northeastern spearheaded by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki is a calculated bid to secure a region long neglected, yet has untapped potential.

Kenya Kwanza administration is making an aggressive play to win hearts and minds through infrastructure projects, security overhauls and socio-economic interventions.

At the heart of the scramble for Northern Kenya is the Isiolo-Mandera road, a 760-kilometre connection slicing through Isiolo, Wajir and Mandera counties.

It is no ordinary road, and is deemed the largest ongoing infrastructure project in the country and is viewed as a game-changer once completed.

The government, keen to fast-track its completion, has divided the project into sections, assigning different contractors to ensure speed and efficiency.

Once complete, the road will not only connect Kenya to Ethiopia and Somalia but also unlock trade, improve security and slash travel times that have for decades stifled economic growth.

“The greater Northern Kenya region is receiving full government attention to ensure affirmative action measures to correct historical mistakes that have caused some parts of our country to receive development funding that is disproportionately low compared to the needs,” Kindiki said during his recent tour of the region.

During a fundraiser for women-led SMEs in Marsabit, he said, “The government was also putting up markets, housing and electricity projects in the region and mobilising local communities for registration into the Taifa Care universal medical insurance drive.”

But perhaps the most consequential shift has been the abolition of discriminatory vetting requirements for national identity cards.

For years, thousands of Kenyan Somalis were locked out of citizenship documents, denied the right to vote, open bank accounts or even register mobile SIM cards.

Today, with streamlined registration processes, they are finally being recognised as full citizens, a move that has not only restored dignity but also reshaped the political landscape.

"This is not just about roads or IDs," Kindiki declared during a recent rally.

"It is about rewriting the story of Northern Kenya, from a forgotten frontier to a thriving economic hub."

A section of leaders from the region have resolved to work with President Ruto beyond 2027, citing the interventions as inspiring hope.

“Our people are behind President Ruto. We will support him 100 per cent in the election. He shouldn’t panic because we have seen the hand of the government,” Marsabit Governor Ali Mohamud said.

ASALS and Regional Development PS Kello Harsama said the region has for the first time, felt the government, unlike the past, when all that was given were verbal assurances.

“For the first time since independence, we have a government we can call ours. We have, since 1963, been forced to tell people we are in government when in reality we were not,” the PS said.

“We have no way of saying thank you but to wake up early in August 2027 and hand Ruto a second term. We have people getting IDs for the first time.” 

The administration has also poured billions into the Last Mile Connectivity Programme, bringing electricity to households that have relied on lanterns and diesel generators.

Eldas MP Adan Keynan, the longest-serving MP, said support for Ruto is driven by trust and gratitude for his administration's focus on marginalised areas like Northern Kenya.

“Ruto's administration has invested in infrastructure, education, security and economic empowerment across Northern Kenya," he said, adding, "This has reignited hope in a region long neglected and, for that, we stand firmly behind him."

For the government, “the impact is already being felt in grassroots enterprises, where small traders and artisans now operate beyond sunset”.

The government has also rolled out a livestock restocking programme under the National Disaster Management Authority and the State Department for Livestock Development.

This is to respond to the devastating effect of drought on pastoralist communities and mitigate on dwindling stocks.

Education, too, has been revitalised with classrooms and laboratories sprouting in schools across the region as part of the effort to bridge the gap between marginalised areas and the rest of the country.

In February, President Ruto conducted a four-day development tour across Mandera, Wajir, Garissa and Isiolo counties and made commitments that the leaders are currently following through.

Public Service CS Geoffrey Ruku was recently in the region to ramp up interventions geared to enabling the residents access public services such as birth certificates, IDs, among other crucial documents.

INSTANT ANALYSIS

As the 2027 elections draw nearer, the political calculus is undeniable. Northeastern, with its growing electorate and newfound government attention, is no longer an afterthought.

It is a battleground, and Kenya Kwanza’s courtship of its people, through concrete development and inclusive policies, may well determine who holds power in the next decade. The road to Mandera is being paved, the lights are coming on and the IDs are finally in hand.