Osotsi said the political anxiety and hurried declarations are not signs of confidence but symptoms of panic after sensing growing public disillusionment following unfulfilled promises and what the people now increasingly view as political deception.
He said the claims come at a moment when those aligned to the Kenya Kwanza administration have realised that the caucus formed to campaign for UDA in Western Kenya has failed to gain traction on the ground despite using a lot of public resources.
“The people of our region must know that their votes will be protected. The Linda Mwananchi leadership and movement in Western Kenya will not create room for election manipulation or any form of rigging,” he said in a statement on Monday.
“We are committed to defending the democratic will of wananchi and ensuring that every vote cast reflects the sovereign voice of the people,” he added.
Osotsi said the region has embraced the Linda Mwananchi movement and has no appetite for recycled promises or political public relations exercises disguised as development.
While addressing UDA grassroots leaders from Lugari constituency on Friday, Kakamega deputy governor Ayub Savula seemed to point out possibilities of manipulating the 2027 general elections.
“We have the budget for election, and we’re the ones paying commissioners’ salaries. How can President William Ruto lose the election?” he said.
He said that those calling for unwavering support for President Ruto have little to show for their political alignment with the government.
“The much-publicised agreement promising the region 30 per cent share of senior government appointments has largely remained unfulfilled, while the pledge to tarmac 1,000 kilometres of roads across the region has failed to materialise in any meaningful way,” he said.
“Even more revealing is the 2026/27 national budget which exposes the hollowness of the political promises being marketed to the people of Western Kenya,” he said.
He said that only a negligible 0.2 per cent of the Sh700 billion national development budget has been allocated to the five counties of Western Kenya.
Osotsi claimed that many projects launched in the Western region with the current regime remain grossly underfunded, raising serious concerns about whether there is any genuine commitment to complete them and transform lives.
“Some of the projects have been abandoned by the contractors, others have stalled while some never started after the launch,” he claimed.
“Our sugar sector, once the backbone of the regional economy, continues to suffer under questionable decisions that have effectively handed over key factories of Busia Sugar, Mumias and Nzoia without clear benefits to farmers and workers,” he added.
The Senator claimed that some leaders from the region appear more preoccupied with political messaging and chest-thumping over electoral institutions instead of aggressively pushing for equitable development allocations and economic revival.
He claimed the sudden obsession with allocations to the IEBC is clearly intended to divert attention from failed promises and create fear among voters, adding that Western Kenya should not be intimidated into supporting any political outfit through manufactured narratives.
