Embakasi East MP Babu Owino has claimed that President William Ruto offered him the post of Cabinet Secretary for Education at the height of the 2024 Gen Z protests, an offer he says he turned down because of his opposition to the broad-based government.

Owino made the claim in an interview on Thee Alfa House YouTube channel, reported on Thursday by Citizen Digital and People Daily. He was responding to questions on whether he could be persuaded to abandon the Linda Mwananchi movement and cross over to the President's side ahead of the 2027 General Election.

"Babu was approached during the Gen Z protests; Babu was supposed to be given the minister for Education. I was offered that position by President Ruto himself, and I didn't take it then, what about now?" he said.

State House has not publicly responded to the claim, and it could not be independently verified.

'My ideologies'

The lawmaker said his decision was driven by ideology rather than ambition for a government job. He said he never supported the broad-based arrangement, even when the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga took ODM into cooperation with Ruto's administration.

"I did so because of my ideologies, what I believe in. And I've never believed in the broad-based government, even when Baba was alive," Owino said, adding that he was the only one in ODM who did not join the arrangement.

Ruto dismissed his entire Cabinet on July 11, 2024, after weeks of street protests against the Finance Bill 2024. He later named a new Cabinet that brought in several ODM figures, with Julius Ogamba appointed Education Cabinet Secretary in August 2024.

In February 2025, Owino said publicly that he would only consider joining the Cabinet as Education CS if the government made education free at all levels.

Loyalty questions in Linda Mwananchi

The claim comes as Linda Mwananchi, the movement fronted by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, works to present itself as an alternative to Ruto's camp and faces questions about whether some of its leaders could be poached by the government.

Owino has warned members against divided loyalty before, telling supporters at a rally in Meru in August that anyone unwilling to back the movement fully should openly join Ruto instead.

He heads The Mwananchi Party, formerly the Muungano Party, which he says existed before Linda Mwananchi was formed. The choice of political vehicle has exposed differences within the movement, with some leaders pushing for a single party and others for a coalition of parties.

Despite running his own party, Owino has said he backs Sifuna's presidential ambitions, while he himself is eyeing the Nairobi governor's seat in 2027.

Why it matters

  • If true, the claim would show the President tried to bring in critics at the peak of the 2024 crisis.
  • It is Owino's sharpest attempt yet to fend off speculation that opposition figures could switch sides before 2027.
  • It lands as Linda Mwananchi prepares to formally unveil its party in Nairobi.

Photos: Citizen Digital (Babu Owino); Presidenza della Repubblica via Wikimedia Commons (Attribution, William Ruto). Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.