NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 17 – National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has dismissed criticism over the condition of roads in his political backyard, accusing members of the Linda Mwananchi campaign of deliberately highlighting feeder roads to portray the region’s main highways as dilapidated.
Mbadi spoke after the Linda Mwananchi team toured parts of Homa Bay County, including Sindo, and raised concerns over the state of roads in the area.
The criticism has put the condition of roads in Suba under fresh political scrutiny, with opponents of the government using footage from the tour to question claims of development and infrastructure investment in the region.
But Mbadi, a former Suba South MP, rejected the portrayal, saying the roads captured by the visiting politicians and their supporters were not representative of the main highway.
“Every major highway has a dusty feeder road. Fact! Quite laughable how the roaming tourists deceitfully picked what to magnify,” Mbadi said.
He cited footage circulating online which showed content creators travelling along the Kigwa-Magunga stretch, which he described as a feeder road adjoining the Sindo-Magunga-Sori Highway.
Mbadi accused the Linda Mwananchi politicians of behaving like visitors who deliberately ventured off the main highway before using the condition of the feeder roads to criticise the government.
“This clip captures the content creators enjoying the Kigwa-Magunga stretch along Sindo-Magunga-Sori Highway done by H.E William Ruto’s administration,” he said.
The exchange has taken on a distinctly political dimension, coming shortly after the Linda Mwananchi campaign held engagements in the region as opposition-aligned politicians seek to consolidate support ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The road issue is particularly sensitive in the area because the Sindo-Magunga-Sori corridor has for years been central to demands for improved connectivity in Suba. Mbadi has previously cited the 73-kilometre Mbita-Sindo-Magunga-Sori road as one of the major projects being undertaken under President William Ruto’s administration.
The dispute also comes as local politicians increasingly use infrastructure projects as a measure of the government’s performance, with roads emerging as a key campaign issue ahead of 2027.
The Linda Mwananchi tour has provided fresh ammunition for critics seeking to challenge the government’s development record in the region.
The disagreement is likely to persist as the 2027 political contest gathers pace, with roads, development projects and government performance expected to feature prominently in campaigns across Homa Bay and the wider Nyanza region.
