Khalwale Warns Governor Barasa As He Prepares For Kakamega Gubernatorial Race In 2027
The political rivalry between Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale and Governor Fernandes Barasa heats up as the former seeks to unseat the latter as county chief.
Speaking in Malinya, Kakamega County, after attending Mama Buronika Mutola Magwaka’s burial on Friday, the senator warned Governor Barasa against dividing the Luhya community.
“I want to warn Barasa to stop dividing the Luhya community. I am the one who is going to oppose and replace you,” the senator said.
Khalwale revealed that he is relying on the electorate’s trust in him and Barasa’s performance to defeat the incumbent.
Channelling bursaries through political offices is no longer tenable. Education must be made universal and free. Speaking today in Malinya on the burial of mama Buronika Mutola Magwaka . MHSRIP pic.twitter.com/yX7cBjHsBz
— Dr Boni Khalwale, CBS (@DrBKhalwale) September 6, 2024
The senator went on to say that he wants to promote unity so that the community can benefit from development.
The two top Kakamega leaders have always been at odds, and the latest incident prompted Members of County Assembly (MCAs) to intervene.
County lawmakers from the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) parties had previously warned Khalwale not to attack Governor Barasa, urging him to remain objective in his oversight role.
The MCAs claimed that Khalwale was using his position to campaign for the governorship rather than advocating for additional resources from the national government.
Governor Barasa, for his part, has repeatedly accused Khalwale of launching a smear campaign to discredit his administration.
The squabbles between the two leaders began when the senator accused the governor of allocating insufficient bursary funds to the wards.
Dr Khalwale contended that the Ksh2 million allotted to each of the wards was insufficient to support bright children from vulnerable families.
He proposed that the amount be increased to Ksh20 million per ward. However, the governor stated that his administration had allocated Ksh4 million to each of the wards, totaling Ksh240 million for all.
“We have increased the amount for bursary allocation by an additional Ksh2 million to benefit more children in our county,” stated Barasa.
Khalwale Warns Governor Barasa As He Prepares For Kakamega Gubernatorial Race In 2027
