Former Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo has launched a new political party and formally declared his intention to run for president in Kenya’s 2027 general election.
The People’s Prosperity Party (PPP) was unveiled in Nairobi on Wednesday, with Owalo describing it as a platform focused on economic transformation, national development and improving the welfare of Kenyans.
He said that, if elected, his government would pursue what he called Kenya’s third liberation, centred on economic empowerment and prosperity.
“We shall begin the great work of the third liberation of this country – an economic liberation to deliver prosperity for all,” Owalo said.
The former information, communications and digital economy cabinet secretary said he was seeking the presidency to break away from what he described as business as usual career politics.
“With Eliud Owalo as the CEO of Kenya, it will not be business as usual,” he said.
Owalo served as ICT cabinet secretary in President William Ruto’s administration before leaving the post during a cabinet reshuffle in 2024 following nationwide anti-government protests.
He was later appointed deputy chief of staff in charge of delivery and government efficiency at State House, but resigned in January 2026 after announcing his intention to challenge President Ruto in the 2027 election.
At the launch of the PPP, Mr Owalo said his administration would prioritise tackling corruption, reducing public debt and cutting government waste, while expanding access to education and healthcare.
He also pledged to lower several taxes and levies, arguing that Kenyans had been overburdened by the current tax regime.
His proposals include reducing the top income tax rate from 35 to 20 percent cutting value-added tax (VAT) from 16 to 10 percent, and lowering the housing levy from 1.5 to 0.5 percent.
Owalo said his government would focus on creating an economy in which poverty is not a death sentence.
Without naming his rivals, he also criticised long serving political leaders, questioning whether those who had been in leadership for decades could offer meaningful change.
The launch of the PPP marks Owalo’s formal entry into the race for the presidency, positioning economic reform as the centrepiece of his campaign.
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