Sunday September 21, 2025
Suna East MP Junet Mohamed during an event on September 20, 2025/PCS
MANDERA, Kenya (HOL) — Kenyan lawmaker Junet Mohamed said Saturday the Somali community will be a decisive force in the 2027 general election, pledging its full support for President William Ruto and defending the group’s growing political influence.
The Suna East MP told Ruto during a fundraiser in Mandera County that critics unhappy with his close ties to Somali leaders should be ignored. “The Somali people are hardworking, they run businesses, and they contribute significantly to the GDP of this country,” Junet said. “From what I see, in 2027 their numbers will determine the elections.”
The Somali community is concentrated in Mandera, Wajir and Garissa counties, which together had about 626,000 registered voters in 2022, according to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission . Turnout across the three counties averaged about 61 percent in that election . Official tallies show Raila Odinga led in all three counties, though Somali voters are also a significant presence in Nairobi’s Eastleigh district and other urban constituencies .
Junet, a longtime ally of Odinga, also vowed loyalty to Ruto’s broad-based government. “The way things are moving, we shall reach 2027 together, God willing,” he said.
Ruto, speaking at the same event, said education is the foundation of equality and progress. He praised the Eltabashi Educational Trust for helping vulnerable children in northern Kenya access schooling. “The more education is made accessible to our children, the more empowered, equal and prosperous we become,” he said.
The gathering brought together leaders, scholars and Somali residents in support of education and empowerment initiatives, reflecting both political mobilization and social investment in northern Kenya.
Junet has previously argued the 2027 polls will be both an election and a referendum on Kenya’s political culture. He said the vote would end what he called “politics of exclusivity” and “politics of entitlement.” “It will determine, once and for all, the politics of locking some people out and allowing others in,” he said.
The Somali community, concentrated in northern Kenya and major cities such as Nairobi, has long been central to commerce and trade. Eastleigh in Nairobi has become a Somali-led wholesale and logistics hub, influencing national supply chains
Kenya’s electoral commission and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission have previously cautioned politicians against using ethnic rhetoric, warning that mobilizing voters along tribal lines risks inflaming tensions as campaigns intensify .