Outspoken Embakasi East MP Babu Owino has now challenged the youth dubbed Gen Z and their near-cousins the millennials to come out in large numbers and register as voters because they have the potential to produce the next Kenyan president.

Speaking at NPN The Legacy Church in Westlands, Nairobi on April 19, the vocal MP urged  Gen Zs and Millennials to seek elective positions in 2027 if they want to change the country.

According to Babu, participating in elections by casting ballots alone is not enough to transform a country.

“Everybody in this country, anybody who goes to cast a ballot, is a politician. That is a political process that they are engaging in, which means that they are all politicians. So the question is, after electing a politician, what do these politicians do? Some become dealers while others become leaders. Some have a mission to destroy the nation. Some have a vision to transform lives. So that is the only difference that we have. Therefore, when we elect a leader, it is better for that leader to work”.

Babu went on to reveal that Gen Z and millennials make up the majority of the country’s population.

“I want to encourage this generation, the Gen Zs and the millennials, to participate in the forthcoming elections in 2027 because they are the majority adding up to 65 or 70 percent of the Kenyan population. That means that they can produce a president among themselves; they can produce any governor if they want or retain any MCA seat. So, do not just participate by voting, but also participate by going for these elective seats, and that is what we are going to encourage. And I always say that if you are not on the table, break that table.”

The fiery Embakasi MP has been critical of the relationship between President Ruto and Raila openly saying it benefits the duo and not Kenyans.

Similar sentiments have been expressed by the ODM Party Secretary General Edwin Sifuna and Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya as well as Siaya’s James Aggrey Bob Orengo.

Babu Owino is among the country’s most youthful legislators and is serving his second term in the National Assembly.

Pressure from the Gen Z protests in June 2024 led to President William Ruto dropping the Finance Bill 2024, even after it had been passed by the National Assembly.