{"id":17617,"date":"2026-01-11T20:14:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T20:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/17617\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T20:14:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T20:14:10","slug":"owalo-resigns-after-announcing-2027-presidential-bid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/17617\/","title":{"rendered":"Owalo resigns after announcing 2027 presidential bid"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eliud Owalo, the outgoing Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of Delivery and Government Efficiency of the President of Kenya speaking in Kisumu on January 11, 2026\/FAITH MATETE<\/p>\n

Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of Delivery and Government Efficiency, Eliud Owalo, has resigned from his position with immediate effect following his declaration that he will seek the presidency in the 2027 General Election.<\/p>\n

In a statement issued on Sunday, Owalo said his continued stay in government was no longer viable after announcing his presidential ambitions.<\/p>\n

\u201cFollowing my declaration earlier today that I intend to run for the Presidency of the Republic of Kenya in the year 2027, my position as the Deputy Chief of Staff, Delivery and Government Efficiency is no longer tenable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He added that the decision took effect immediately, stating, \u201cI have therefore resigned from the position with immediate effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Owalo has been serving as Deputy Chief of Staff overseeing delivery and government efficiency, a role central to coordinating and tracking the implementation of government programmes across ministries, departments and agencies.<\/p>\n

Eliud Owalo, the outgoing Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of Delivery and Government Efficiency of the President of Kenya speaking in Kisumu on January 11, 2026\/FAITH MATETEHis resignation formally clears the way for his entry into the 2027 presidential race, making him one of the earliest aspirants to publicly declare interest in the country\u2019s top seat from within the Executive.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the day, Owalo had made the announcement to run for the position during the 106th commemoration of the death of his grandfather, Prophet Johanna Owalo, the founder of Nomiya Church, held at the church\u2019s headquarters in Oboch, Kisumu County.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome 2027, I will submit myself as a candidate for the Presidency of the Republic of Kenya,\u201d Owalo said, adding that his track record as \u201ca performer, a results-oriented person and a risk-taker\u201d would guide his bid for the country\u2019s top seat.<\/p>\n

The declaration marks a shift for Owalo, who has worked with political heavyweights including former Prime Mionister Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka, Musalia Mudavadi and currently President William Ruto. <\/p>\n

He said he is moving from supporting individual leaders to championing development for the Kenyan people.
\n
\nSpeaking after the church service, he urged residents of Nyanza to embrace \u201ca politics of action rather than rhetoric\u201d and outlined a development agenda aimed at transforming the region. \n<\/p>\n


\nHe highlighted the need to expand water infrastructure, including the Koru\u2013Soin dams, to address flooding, support power generation, provide last-mile water connectivity and enhance food security. \n<\/p>\n


\nOwalo also stressed the importance of completing the Lake Victoria Ring Road to link Busia to Migori and improve regional and cross-border trade with Uganda and Tanzania.<\/p>\n


\n
\nOn economic growth, he called for the upgrading of Kisumu International Airport to handle cargo, saying the region must export fish, farm produce and other goods directly to international markets. \n<\/p>\n


\nHe proposed the establishment of processing factories for fish, livestock products, hides and skins, potatoes, avocado, tea, coffee and soapstone to promote value addition within Nyanza. \n<\/p>\n


\nOwalo further called for the revival of the sugar, rice and cotton sectors and for reforms in the mining sector to ensure local communities benefit from natural resources.
\n
\nHe also advocated for genuine multi-party democracy in Nyanza, saying the 2010 Constitution guarantees political pluralism and competitive leadership. \n<\/p>\n


\nThe annual commemoration of Prophet Johanna Owalo\u2019s death, held every January 11, provided the platform for him to link his personal legacy with his national political ambitions and his vision for development-focused leadership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Eliud Owalo, the outgoing Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of Delivery and Government Efficiency of the President…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17618,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[80,351,352,98,100,353,101,350,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-17617","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-kenya","8":"tag-kenya","9":"tag-kenya-news","10":"tag-star","11":"tag-star-news","12":"tag-star-news-kenya","13":"tag-star-newspaper-kenya","14":"tag-the-star","15":"tag-the-star-kenya","16":"tag-the-star-newspaper"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}