By Abdimalik Hajir - Reporter
25 December 2025 - On 5 February 2025 President William Ruto made history as the first Kenyan President to stand on Orahey ground in Wajir and publicly sign a decree ending years of state discrimination in the issuance of vital documents.
Signing the Presidential Proclamation on Registration and Issuance of IDs to Border Counties, President Ruto termed the practice unjust and disenfranchising.
“If it’s about vetting, let all children of Kenya be vetted equally without any discrimination. We want the people of Northern Kenya to feel equal to the rest of the country,” said President Ruto on a four-day tour to the region where he visited Mandera, Wajir, Garissa, and Isiolo.
Politically, the region has been in support of the government of the day, a reason a large number voted for government-backed Raila Odinga of ODM against William Ruto of UDA.
During President Uhuru’s reign, a large majority also supported initiatives such as the Building Bridges Initiative.
It was from the Orahey ground that President Ruto made the famous remarks: “Ndiyo barabara itoke Mandera, ikuje Rhamu, ikuje Gare, ikuje Elwak, ikuje Kobo, ikuje Kutulo, ikuje Tarbaj, ipitie Wajir, iende Samatar iteremke Modogashe.”
These phrases that went viral on social media gave the notion that the President knew the areas in the region well and that he meant well by connecting the road network that is currently in a deplorable state.
He said he was determined to connect the marginalised Northeastern region to other parts of the country as they have remained behind and transportation has been difficult.
Ruto then told crowds that his government has collaborated with the African Development Bank and set aside a whopping 100 billion to complete 750km from Isiolo to Mandera.
From his state visit to the region, his foot soldiers, including Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, have been using each opportunity to remind the region how Ruto’s government has returned the dignity of the region after the removal of discriminatory vetting.
Duale has maintained that President Ruto has restored the dignity of the people of the Northeastern region, adding that the region has for the longest period faced discrimination by successive governments.
“When we look at birth certificates, IDs, and birth certificates, our people used to face a lot of difficulties, but you stood in Orahey in Wajir and signed to remove those hurdles and by doing so you restored the dignity of our people,” Duale said while speaking in Masalani during the wedding of Mohamed Noordin, the son of Kenya’s Director General of the National Intelligence Service.
He noted that the dignity of human beings is even more important than other necessities, including water, roads, and other development initiatives.
The Health CS said Kenyan politics has been divided into two: one that has a transformative agenda and others he claimed are hell-bent on insults, incitement, and tribalism.
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By placing individuals from the region in crucial government offices, the administration has sought to consolidate regional support for Ruto’s re-election campaign.
Currently, Amin Mohamed is head of Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations while Noordin Haji is the Director General of the Intelligence Service; former IEBC commission chairman Ahmed Issack is also head of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA).
By courting the region, analysts believe it is Ruto’s strategy to consolidate power ahead of the 2027 general election.
In recent weeks, however, the region has witnessed unprecedented political temperatures with Wajir North MP Ibrahim Saney and other lawmakers saying their support for Ruto's re-election would not be automatic.
The Wajir North lawmaker reiterated that the notion that Northeastern Kenya usually votes for the government of the day will no longer be there.
“I have heard many promises. We have gone around the region making many promises for the people of the former North Eastern Province. After the end of two years, we will do a self-audit and only reciprocate after finding several developments on the ground,” said the UDA lawmaker.
Saney said there is no free vote and the leaders will go back to the drawing board to forge forward on who to support in the general elections.
President Ruto’s dalliance with the region has faced huge criticism with opposition leaders claiming removing vetting will lead to non-Kenyans getting identity cards.
“I have worked in the North Eastern; the majority of people applying for IDs are Somalis from Somalia. They could compromise the vetting committee now that it has been removed and there is no alternative; they will all acquire Kenya’s identity cards,” said Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya.
Natembeya said the removal of vetting has serious security implications as Kenya’s standing internationally will be affected as well as it could lead to foreigners running and winning political positions in the country.
With vote-rich Mount Kenya’s support for William Ruto now not guaranteed as a result of the onslaught by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Ruto has now keenly set his eyes on the North Eastern and coastal regions as well as Nyanza.
Mr Gachagua was impeached in October 2024 with former Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki replacing him.
