Embakasi East Member of Parliament Paul Ongili, popularly known as Babu Owino has hit back at Kericho County Senator Aaron Cheruiyot’s claims that he is unfit to lead Nairobi County because he was not born there.

Speaking in a video shared to his X platform on Wednesday August 13, 2025, Owino stated that the senator’s comments were misguided and portrayed him as narrow-minded.

Owino further added with conviction that although he came to Nairobi by bus, he was prepared to tackle each and every issue that the residents of the city will bring about.

“There is Nairobi by birth, and there is Nairobi by bus. Those who came by bus will ensure that the challenges of drainage and poor roads are fixed, challenges of water are fixed, challenges of garbage are fixed, challenges of unemployment are fixed, challenges of fees for our children are fixed by giving them bursaries, challenges of poor medication are fixed,” he remarked.

The Embakasi East MP also claimed that many previous leaders despite being born in Nairobi have abandoned the city, leaving it plagued by corruption, poor services and incompetence.

“Those who came by birth, or rather those who were born in Nairobi, have left Nairobi, a place that cannot be admired. They have left it like a cemetery of corruption, incompetence, poor services, thuggery, and a worse environment for doing business, and therefore, you can judge for yourself,” he argued.

Owino’s statements were in response to earlier comments by Cheruiyot, who had suggested in an interview on July 31, 2025, that the MP stood no chance of winning the Nairobi governor’s seat as he was not born there and therefore lacked a strong connection with the city’s residents.

Cheruiyot had made the remarks while expressing his support for current Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja in the upcoming 2027 elections.

“Babu Owino wasn’t born in Nairobi. He doesn’t connect well with the people of Nairobi; therefore, he can’t be governor. Nairobi has its owners,” he declared.