SINDO, HOMA BAY — President William Ruto on Thursday took his development agenda to Sindo in Homa Bay County, visiting road and market projects as his administration steps up its presence in the Nyanza region ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Ruto's visit brought him into a political landscape that has traditionally been dominated by the opposition and came just days after Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna led a major mobilisation of the Linda Mwananchi movement in Nairobi.
The President inspected the Sindo KMTC access road and town roads and visited the Economic Stimulus Programme market at Kijabe as part of his wider tour of Homa Bay.
The projects formed part of the administration's effort to showcase its development record in a region where the Kenya Kwanza government has been seeking to strengthen its support.
The Sindo visit also followed Sifuna's political tour of Nairobi on Sunday, when the senator led supporters through parts of the city before addressing a rally at Jacaranda Grounds.
Sifuna, accompanied by politicians including Siaya Governor James Orengo and Embakasi East MP Babu Owino, used the rally to intensify his criticism ofRuto administration and declare that the President would serve only one term.
The senator has also continued to oppose the government's affordable housing programme and the housing levy, making the policy one of the recurring points of confrontation between him and the administration.
Ruto, meanwhile, has maintained that affordable housing is a central part of his development programme, alongside roads, markets, healthcare, and job creation.
The competing messages are increasingly being taken beyond Nairobi and into counties where the political contest for 2027 is expected to be fought at the grassroots level.
Homa Bay is particularly significant in that contest. The county has for years been a stronghold of the opposition, although Ruto's administration has in recent months increased its political and development activities across Nyanza.
Ruto's visit was also notable because he was received in a county governed by Gladys Wanga, an ODM politician and one of the region's prominent opposition figures.
For the administration, the emphasis remains on development projects and the argument that government investment should be felt across the country regardless of traditional political loyalties.
For the opposition, the focus has increasingly been on mobilising voters around the performance of the Ruto government and positioning new political formations ahead of 2027.
Sindo therefore offered a snapshot of the emerging contest: a President using government projects to consolidate his message in an opposition-dominated region, while opposition politicians are building their own networks and taking their campaign to the same communities.
With the 2027 election still ahead, both sides are already testing their reach on the ground.
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