Former Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha and ex-Kiminini MP Chris Wamalwa on Saturday formally declared their intention to run for Trans Nzoia governor in 2027, with the explicit aim of dislodging the incumbent George Natembeya.
Speaking after a closed-door meeting with Luhya elders and opinion leaders in Kitale, Wamalwa invoked the Swahili proverb “panapo wazee hapaharibiki jambo” (where elders are, nothing goes wrong) and quoted Ecclesiastes 4:12 on the strength of unity.
“Today was just kusemezana (talking to each other),” he said. “Trans Nzoia is cosmopolitan, and our campaign will be all-inclusive, but we start with our people because they form one of the largest voting blocs.”
Nakhumicha, recently appointed Kenya’s Permanent Representative to UN-Habitat, revealed that her Tachoni clan had “removed” her from the Women Representative race and directed her to challenge Natembeya directly.
“The Constitution allows any Kenyan, of any gender, to seek any leadership position,” she told the gathering in fluent Kiswahili, earning loud applause.
The duo, both aligned to the ruling Kenya Kwanza coalition, will first have to battle each other for the Ford Kenya ticket currently associated with National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula.
Political observers see Nakhumicha’s entry as Wetang’ula’s counterpunch against Natembeya, who has spent the past year aggressively campaigning against both the Speaker and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, accusing them of betraying the Luhya community.
Natembeya, who stunned Kenya Kwanza in 2022 by winning the governorship on a Democratic Action Party-Kenya (DAP-K) ticket despite polling fewer votes (58,919) than Wamalwa’s 79,020 in the same election (he benefited from vote splitting), recently shelved presidential ambitions to focus on re-election.
Nakhumicha on the other hand, served as the Cabinet Secretary for Health from October 2022 until July 2024, when the Cabinet was dissolved following anti-government protests.
During her tenure, she championed the Afya Nyumbani (Health at Home) initiative and midwived President Ruto’s flagship Social Health Authority (SHA).
