From scandals and run-ins with the police to student activism and defiance from the slums, Babu Owino has never fit the mould of Kenya’s political elite.
Defined for a long time by controversy, court battles and confrontations with authority, the outspoken Embakasi East MP has now forced his way into the national conversation after a new opinion poll ranked him among the country’s top presidential contenders — a result that has unsettled both his allies and critics.
Like Mike Sonko, the disgraced former Nairobi governor, Mr Owino represents a new breed of politicians who buck the trend. They thrive by challenging the status quo and speaking (or appear to be speaking) the language of the poor. They don't subscribe to convention, and sometimes skullduggery is their currency of trade.
To his supporters, he is the unfiltered voice of the urban poor—a slum survivor who speaks the language of pain and resistance. To his critics, however, he is a symbol of excess, impunity and political recklessness. Yet, the latest opinion poll confirms he is no longer a fringe actor in national politics.
The Infotrak survey has thrust the outspoken legislator into the national spotlight after ranking him fourth among potential presidential contenders, ahead of seasoned heavyweights and former power brokers.
President William Ruto leads in the poll at 28 per cent, followed by former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i at 13 per cent and Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka at 12 per cent. But it is Babu Owino’s 7 per cent—surpassing former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s 5 per cent—that has sparked intense political debate.
Embakasi East MP Babu Owino.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group
Perhaps aware of his rising star, both Mr Gachagua and Mr Musyoka have welcomed Mr Owino to their respective parties, Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) and Wiper Patriotic Front, pledging to offer him a gubernatorial ticket if he feels that his current party, ODM, might not offer him a fair chance.
Analysts say that for such a youthful politician, the fete is quite something.
“It suggests that beneath the noise and notoriety lies a growing constituency that sees in Babu Owino something Kenya’s political class has long lacked - a combative, unapologetic voice shaped by youthful defiance,” political analyst Dismas Mokua said.
“Mr Owino can use this poll as a ‘special-purpose vehicle’ to create a new political narrative—one that grows his political capital, refreshes his brand, and elevates his national standing,” he added.
According to the analyst, “while many voters only crystallise their choices closer to election day, the numbers suggest that Babu Owino has entered the national conversation in a way that cannot be ignored”.
The poll, released on Sunday, also places Mr Owino at the centre of another, more delicate succession battle in the Luo nation following Raila Odinga’s death. Asked who is most likely to emerge as the leading political figure representing the Luo community following Raila’s death, 33 per cent of respondents named Mr Owino, far ahead of Raila’s brother, Oburu Oginga, who polled at 10 per cent. A further 37 per cent said they were undecided, underscoring how open and contested the succession has become.
Other figures trail distantly: Gladys Wanga and James Orengo at 7 and 4 per cent respectively, while Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi and Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo polled 2 per cent each.
Babu Owino
Photo credit: Billy Ogada | Nation Media Group
Analysts believe that the results hint at a generational shift, where emotional attachment to lineage and long service is giving way to charisma, defiance, confrontation and visibility.
Born in Kisumu and raised in the Nyalenda slums, Mr Owino grew up witnessing police brutality, poverty and systemic injustice at close range. He has often spoken of his mother’s repeated arrests for selling chang’aa, and the beatings she endured when she could not pay bribes. Those experiences, he says, forged his lifelong hostility towards State power wielded without accountability.
That anger found an early outlet in student politics. As chairman of the Students Organisation of Nairobi University, he clashed with university management and the government of the day.
Street-fighter politician
Mr Owino’s campaigns are as much spectacle as politics, blending the raw energy of the street with the polish of serious money. His rallies are often marked by sleek convoys, that signal a well-financed operation. The contrast between his slum-rooted rhetoric and the unmistakably swanky presentation is part of the strategy—a declaration that defiance can coexist with wealth and power.
At the podium, Mr Owino leans heavily into symbolism and theatre. Chants ripple through the crowd, and his speeches are punctuated by call-and-response sloganeering—“Vijana Riaaaa!” “Vijana Tibim!” “Vijana Tialala!” “Warembo Mwaaah—that turns rallies into participatory performances. The slogans, crude to some and electrifying to others, reinforce his image as a populist disruptor who speaks in the language of his base.
By the time he entered parliamentary politics in 2017, winning the Embakasi East seat, he had already cultivated an image as a street-fighter politician. He retained the seat in 2022, cementing his hold on one of Nairobi’s most populous and volatile constituencies.
In Parliament, he has been a relentless critic of the government, a loud voice against the broad-based government in which his ODM party belongs. He has sponsored and supported legislation touching on social protection, education access and youth welfare, while consistently using the floor of the House and its committees to amplify issues affecting urban poor communities.
Reacting to the findings, Mr Owino was characteristically brief. “It’s God’s plan,” he told the Daily Nation when reached on Monday.
In a recent interview with the Nation, Mr Owino confirmed that he would contest the Nairobi gubernatorial seat in 2027 — with or without the backing of ODM.
Even as his relationship with the ODM establishment has grown strained, particularly over his opposition to the broad-based government, he insists his loyalty to Raila’s legacy remains intact.
Mr Owino has a long list of controversies that continue to haunt his public image. Perhaps the most damaging was the 2020 shooting of DJ Evolve, real name Felix Orinda, at a Nairobi nightclub.
Embakasi East MP Babu Owino speaks during a service at Jesus Teaching Ministry in Nairobi on August 24, 2025.
Photo credit: Billy Ogada | Nation Media Group
Though the attempted murder charge was later withdrawn following a court-approved settlement in which the MP agreed to buy an apartment for the victim and cover medical expenses, the case entrenched doubts about impunity, accountability and political privilege.
Earlier incidents—including alleged assaults on a parking attendant, scuffles with fellow MPs and confrontations with security personnel—have further cemented his reputation as a volatile figure.
Critics argue that such behaviour disqualifies him from higher office. Supporters counter that Kenya’s political class is replete with worse offenders who hide behind polished rhetoric.
Mr Owino’s strained ties with ODM, his polarising reputation, and unresolved public scepticism pose formidable barriers, analysts say. Advocate Chris Omore, however, opines that “what the poll makes clear, is that dismissing Babu Owino would be a mistake”.
“In a political season defined by fragmentation, generational change and post-Raila uncertainty, Babu Owino has emerged as a wildcard — unpredictable, disruptive and increasingly influential,” he added.
