National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula has intensified campaigns for President William Ruto’s re-election, urging residents of Mandera County to back the Head of State for a second term saying his administration had ended decades of discrimination against Northern Kenya and was delivering long-overdue development projects.
Speaking on Tuesday during the Lafey Constituency Empowerment Programme in Mandera County, Speaker Wetang’ula said President Ruto had dismantled what he described as unequal treatment that residents of Northern Kenya had endured for decades, particularly in the issuance of national identity cards.
He said previous administrations subjected residents of the region to stringent vetting procedures that were not applied elsewhere in the country, locking out many young people from accessing education, employment and government services.
“Since independence, residents of Northern Kenya have faced discrimination in the issuance of identity cards. It appeared as though there were two sets of rules—one for the rest of Kenya and another for Northern Kenya,” Hon. Wetang’ula said.
“The process of obtaining an ID here was almost like seeking a pass to heaven. People were asked countless questions only to be denied such an important document.”
The Speaker praised President Ruto’s administration for abolishing what he termed discriminatory practices, saying every Kenyan deserved equal treatment regardless of their region, religion or ethnicity.
“President William Ruto has made it clear that Kenya must be a country where every citizen is treated equally when seeking government services. The same law that applies in Nairobi, Western Kenya and the Coast must equally apply in Northern Kenya,” he said.
He told residents that leaders would no longer tolerate discrimination based on one’s place of birth or ethnic background.
“As leaders, we shall not accept any discrimination against any Kenyan because of religion, ethnicity or region. We are one people and one nation.”
Speaker Wetang’ula, who is the Ford Kenya Party leader used the forum to mount a spirited defence of the Kenya Kwanza administration’s development record arguing that the government had invested heavily in historically marginalised regions.
He cited the ongoing Isiolo-Wajir-Mandera highway, estimated to cost about Sh100 billion, as one of the biggest infrastructure projects currently underway in the country.
“As we speak, the President launched one of the largest infrastructure projects in Kenya, the road from Isiolo through Wajir to Mandera. It is wrong for anyone to claim that investing in this region is a waste of public resources,” he said.
He argued that Northern Kenya possessed enormous economic potential through livestock, trade and mineral resources and deserved infrastructure investments comparable to those made in regions known for cash crop farming.
“You cannot say public resources are being wasted by developing fellow Kenyans. This region has immense wealth in livestock and minerals just as other parts of the country have tea, coffee and maize.”
The Speaker also highlighted the government’s education reforms saying the recruitment of more than 124,000 teachers had strengthened learning institutions across the country.
He said the government was also investing in teacher training colleges in Northern Kenya to produce local teachers who understand the region and are more likely to remain in local schools.
“We want young men and women from this region to qualify as teachers and serve their own communities instead of relying on teachers transferred from other regions who later seek to leave,” he said.
Hon. Wetang’ula said similar efforts should be made to increase the number of professionals from the region in medicine, engineering and law.
“When development is taking place elsewhere, we also want to see the same opportunities replicated here in medicine, engineering, law and teaching.”
The Speaker further praised the Somali community for its entrepreneurial culture describing it as a model of economic resilience and national integration.
He noted that Somali traders had established businesses in virtually every part of the country creating employment opportunities for thousands of Kenyans.
“In my hometown of Bungoma, we have a respected businesswoman known as Mama Hersi, who has supported many people over the years. Across Kenya, wherever you go, you will find Somali entrepreneurs doing business and employing local people,” he said.
“That entrepreneurial spirit is something other communities should emulate.”
Hon. Wetang’ula urged residents of Mandera to rally behind President Ruto’s re-election bid in 2027 saying the President had demonstrated a commitment to national unity by rejecting tribal politics and ensuring development reached all corners of the country.
“He has united Kenyans and refused attempts to divide the country along ethnic lines. That is the kind of leadership Kenya needs going forward,” he said.
