Embakasi East MP Paul Ongili Owino, popularly known as Babu Owino, has declared the 'Linda Mwananchi' movement the definitive political vehicle to rescue Kenya from its deepening socio-economic crisis ahead of the 2027 polls.
Speaking in Thika on Sunday, June 14, the vocal opposition legislator said traditional political formations have catastrophically failed the electorate, leaving the grassroots movement as the solitary beacon of hope for ordinary Kenyans.
Owino, who cut his political teeth as a fiery student union leader at the University of Nairobi, told a crowd of supporters that the cost of living, youth unemployment, and what he termed “elite state capture” can only be addressed by a citizen-led platform outside the existing party structures.
“Linda Mwananchi is not just another slogan. It is a movement to protect the ordinary citizen who has been abandoned by the political class,” Owino said.
"We have recycled the same parties for decades, the same promises, and the same betrayals. The system is broken, and it cannot fix itself.”
He accused both government and mainstream opposition of being complicit in economic policies that have squeezed households, citing high fuel prices, new taxes introduced in successive Finance Bills, and slow job creation.
“When mwananchi cannot afford unga, cannot pay school fees, and cannot get a job after campus, then the social contract is dead,” he said.
The Embakasi East MP argued that political parties have become vehicles for individuals rather than platforms for policy, adding that Linda Mwananchi would be issue-based and anchored on accountability, economic dignity, and youth representation.
"The only hope for Kenyans in 2027 is Linda Mwananchi. We will produce a presidential candidate." Owino declared, amid cheers of jubilation from the crowd.
