President William Ruto’s growing political activity in Nyanza has given his administration a powerful platform to shape the 2027 election debate, Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka has said, as rival political camps intensify efforts to win public support.
Onyonka said the government had built a strong mobilisation machine around rallies, development projects and social media, allowing it to present its record directly to voters while giving the incumbent administration greater visibility.
Speaking during a Radio Generation interview on Thursday, the senator said the scale and organisation of the government’s political activities suggested that the administration had considerable resources behind its campaign.
“I think, to a large extent, it looks coordinated, organized. It looks funded, and of course, it looks yellow. The truth is, my sincerity is that that crowd, most of it, will believe the narrative because you have the leadership there, and the president is there and is saying this is what I'll do, this is what I'll do. Nobody in those rallies asked him what he hasn't done,” he said.
Onyonka’s comments came as Ruto continued his multi-day tour of Nyanza, covering Kisumu, Siaya, Migori and Homa Bay in September.
During the tour, the President has been inspecting and launching roads, water projects, markets, housing and other infrastructure as his administration seeks to highlight its development record in a region that has historically been associated with the opposition.
Projects highlighted during the tour include the Lake Victoria water and sanitation project in Kisumu, the Dhogoye Bridge in Bondo and road projects in Siaya and Migori.
Onyonka said such activities give sitting governments an advantage because they provide them with a ready platform to communicate their achievements and political message to large numbers of people.
He, however, said it remained too early to tell whether the rallies and development tours would lead to lasting changes in public opinion.
According to the senator, the real test would come after the rallies, when residents assess the government's message against their own experiences and decide whether they believe its promises have been met.
Onyonka also pointed to the role of state resources in giving incumbents an advantage over their political competitors.
“But it is true that state resources create a level of incumbency that is so higher up that very many people will fear to challenge incumbency.”
Ruto’s current Nyanza tour has placed development at the heart of the administration’s political message, with government officials highlighting projects across the four counties as the President continues to seek greater support ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The latest engagement follows an earlier presidential development tour of Kisii and Nyamira in April, when the government highlighted projects covering roads, markets, housing, electricity, education and health.
Government figures also showed that Sh220.5 million had been given to 8,820 young entrepreneurs from Kisii, Nyamira and Migori through the NYOTA programme in January 2026.
The government’s political mobilisation has also continued outside presidential tours. In July, Ruto allies carried out grassroots activities in Nyamira and Kakamega while promoting the administration’s development agenda.
Onyonka, on the other hand, has remained involved in opposition mobilisation. He has taken part in the Linda Mwananchi movement, which held a major rally at Nairobi's Jacaranda Grounds earlier in September.
He also criticised Ruto during a political rally on September 11 over the President’s attacks on opposition figures as rival political groups compete for support in the Gusii region.
Onyonka said the emerging political contest was also becoming a fight over how Kenyans understand the country’s economic situation and the performance of the government.
“Yes, absolutely. The narrative President William Ruto and his team are deliberately pushing, and we have been studying what they are doing, is that everything in Kenya right now is glossy and beautiful. They present it as though everything is successful, and if you do not see the wonderful things they have done, then there is something wrong with your perception. They do not understand why we are raising these issues, and that is why they say we have no plan. So, in a sense, one side is gaslighting the other.”
The senator questioned whether government statistics, official announcements and project launches would be enough to shape voters’ views, saying people also judge the administration through their daily experiences with public services and their household finances.
“But what they forget is that the general public is the one that expresses how they feel. When you talk to police officers, many of them will tell you that although their salaries were increased by 10,000 shillings, deductions of about 9,400 shillings followed. That meant many of those officers were left with only 400 shillings from the increase.”
Onyonka further accused the government of taking credit for some projects that had been started by previous administrations, saying political messaging could affect how voters assign credit for development.
He also said social media had changed political communication by giving governments and politicians the ability to showcase selected images and messages about their performance.
With Ruto continuing his tour of the four Nyanza counties while opposition groups step up their grassroots activities, Onyonka said the strength of the rival political messages would eventually be tested by whether they reflect the experiences of ordinary Kenyans.