Editor's Review

"I will be running for Governor of Kakamega County in 2027," Senator Khalwale. 

Senator Boni Khalwale on Sunday, January 14, held a 6-hour meeting with former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya. 

Addressing the press after the meeting, Khalwale announced his 2027 gubernatorial bid in the company of Oparanya. 

"Today was the day to inform the County Government that I will be running for Governor in 2027. I deliberately chose former Governor Wycliffe Oparanya for this very important communication to this county because he was our first Governor," Khalwale told the press.  

The two leaders announced that they had buried their political hatchet and would work together for the sake of Kakamega County. 

"He put me on toes to deliver and because he put me on toes, I think I was able to deliver and that is what a Senator is supposed to do. In politics, there are no permanent enemies or permanent friends. What is important is interest. 

"We have decided to bury any differences that people thought we had so that we work together for the benefit of the people of Kakamega. I have told him to consult with his coalition and I will also do the same to make sure that we are all together come 2027," Oparanya stated. 

Senator Khalwale and Oparanya. 

Senator Khalwale's announcement comes hours after Mumia East MP Peter Salasya told the former that he would never be the Governor of Kakamega. 

"Boni Khalwale, you will never be the governor of Kakamega," Salasya told the Senator via X platform. 

Khalwale will now be hoping to dethrone incumbent Fernandes Barasa who was elected in the 2022 August polls in an ODM ticket.