Pressure Mounts on Governor Mwadime to Pick Deputy from Taveta Ahead of 2027
Political pressure is mounting on Taita Taveta Governor Andrew Mwadime to select his deputy
governor from Taveta Constituency as the county edges closer to the 2027 general election.
The call has been led by Taveta Member of Parliament John Bwire, who argues that Taveta
residents have been systematically sidelined from the county’s top leadership despite being a key
voting bloc.
Bwire pointed out that Governor Mwadime is from Mwatate Constituency, the current deputy
governor hails from Voi, while both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the County Assembly
come from Wundanyi, leaving Taveta without representation in the county’s most powerful
offices.
“I have been sent by the people of Taveta to tell our governor, Andrew Mwadime, that this time
he must pick his deputy from Taveta so that our people can feel included in the county
government,” Bwire said.
As succession politics intensify, the county’s power-sharing debate is increasingly taking an
ethnic and regional turn, with leaders openly positioning their constituencies ahead of the polls.
A growing section of political players now insist that Voi Constituency should produce the next
governor in 2027, citing an informal rotation of power since the advent of devolution.
Under this emerging political pattern, the first governor, Eng. John Mruttu, hailed from Taveta,
the second governor, Hon. Granton Samboja, came from Wundanyi, while the current governor,
Andrew Mwadime, is from Mwatate Constituency.
With Taveta, Voi, Wundanyi, and Mwatate all staking competing claims to power, the deputy
governor slot has become a critical bargaining chip in the unfolding 2027 equation.
As the campaign season gathers momentum, Taita Taveta residents now face a familiar political
crossroads: whether to endorse a constituency-based power rotation, back a two-term push for
the incumbent, or usher in a one-term political reset.
