Energy Cabinet Secretary James Wandayi, with his characteristic passion and unwavering commitment to transformative governance, marked a pivotal moment in Kenya’s digital revolution at the successful launch of the Last Mile Connectivity Program in Nasianda Village, Kimilili Constituency, Bungoma County. This event was no mere ceremonial ribbon-cutting; it represented a profound step toward bridging the glaring digital divide that has long plagued rural Kenya, where communities like Nasianda have been sidelined from the broadband boom urban centers enjoy.
Spearheading the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum’s bold vision, Wandayi engaged directly with wananchi at the Nasianda SA Primary School Grounds, transforming a technical rollout into a vibrant dialogue that resonated deeply with the people’s aspirations. Amid dusty grounds and eager faces of ordinary Kenyans, the Cabinet Secretary articulated not just the mechanics of fiber optic cables reaching remote villages, but the promise of empowerment—unlocking education, healthcare, and economic opportunities for families long trapped in analog isolation.
The unanimous endorsement from the wananchi was not polite applause but a thunderous affirmation of the Kenya Kwanza administration’s deliverables, signaling robust grassroots support carrying into the next dispensation under the rallying cry of #PoweringTheNewKenya. It was a moment that reflected lived experience meeting tangible progress, where policy ceased to be abstract and became personal.
This passionate engagement underscored a rare fusion of policy execution and people-centered leadership, qualities that have often eluded Kenya’s political landscape. Wandayi did not arrive in Nasianda as a distant bureaucrat; he connected viscerally, listening to stories of children studying by lantern light and farmers trading without access to market data. His message ignited hope as he explained how the Last Mile Connectivity Program—part of the broader Digital Superhighway initiative—would deliver high-speed internet to over 20,000 public institutions nationwide, with Nasianda standing as a beacon of possibility.
He painted a compelling picture of transformation: primary school pupils in Kimilili accessing global learning platforms, health centers improving service delivery through telemedicine, and market vendors negotiating real-time prices through mobile applications. Backed by billions in government investment, this vision was grounded in delivery rather than rhetoric. The wananchi’s response—chants, handshakes, and pledges of loyalty—signaled a shift from skepticism to partnership.
Bungoma County, often overlooked in digital narratives dominated by Nairobi’s tech ecosystem, emerged as proof that devolved governance can amplify national initiatives. The Nasianda launch demonstrated that rural Kenya is not a peripheral beneficiary of development, but a central pillar in the realization of a truly inclusive digital nation.
Delving deeper, Wandayi’s engagement revealed the strategic foresight of embedding digital connectivity within energy policy. As Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary, he oversees not only power infrastructure but the digital backbone intertwined with it—renewable energy powering data centers, smart grids driving efficiency, and broadband enabling e-governance. The Last Mile Connectivity Program directly addresses one of Kenya’s most persistent equity gaps: the exclusion of rural communities from reliable internet access.
At Nasianda SA Primary School, Wandayi highlighted early success stories from pilot regions, including improved learning outcomes and digitally enabled agricultural cooperatives. These examples animated policy with human impact, reinforcing the idea that wananchi are not passive recipients of development but active partners. Their unanimous backing of the “broadband government” strengthens the case for continuity into the next administration, positioning digital equity as a cornerstone of Kenya’s development narrative.
Beyond connectivity, the Nasianda moment carried deeper implications for governance and national cohesion. In a village emblematic of Kenya’s forgotten frontiers, Wandayi turned a launch into a forum for accountability, fielding questions on affordability, timelines, and cybersecurity with transparency. His pledge to support subsidized data access for schools and small enterprises dismantled the archetype of detached leadership and replaced it with trust.
Economically, the implications are far-reaching. Expanded digital access promises growth in e-commerce, remote work, and agritech innovation, with rural youth positioned as drivers rather than spectators of the digital economy. Socially, it empowers women and girls by narrowing gender digital gaps that reinforce inequality. The wananchi’s endorsement, therefore, is not blind loyalty but confidence earned through visible action.
In reflecting on the Nasianda launch, a clear blueprint for sustainable political capital emerges: deliver, engage, and endure. Cabinet Secretary James Wandayi did more than connect a village to the internet—he reignited faith in government as a force for upliftment. As Kenya accelerates toward a digital future, such moments affirm that leadership anchored at the grassroots is the true engine of #PoweringTheNewKenya, ensuring that rural communities are not merely connected, but central to the nation’s shared prosperity.
James Kilonzo Bwire is a Media and Communication Practitioner.
