“No Homegrown MP”: Bahati Faults Outside Candidates For Slow Development In Mathare

Musician Kevin Bahati has declared that the Mathare constituency has suffered decades of slow development because it has never been led by an MP born and raised within the community.

Speaking during a live media interview on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, the artist detailed the drive behind his political ambitions, contrasting his roots in the informal settlement with what he termed “imposed” candidates.

“Mathare has never had an MP or rather a leader that is born, raised, schooled, bred in Mathare,” Bahati stated, emphasizing that high poverty levels require a leader with lived experience of the ground realities.

Flawed Political Alignments and Imposed Candidates

Bahati criticized the tradition of major political coalitions handing party tickets to outsiders simply to fulfill electoral quotas.

He argued that this habit leaves residents with representatives who have no genuine connection to their daily struggles:

• Disconnected Leadership: “Because of political alignment, unakuja unaletwa unaambiwa there is a constituency hatuna candidate and that’s how we get our MPs,” Bahati explained.

• Delayed Development: “After elections, huyu mtu anaanza kutafuta sasa nitaanzia wapi kwa hii slum. You don’t know the issues facing the youth, the issues facing the kids, women. That’s why development imekuwa very slow.”

Lessons from the 2022 Election

Reflecting on his first parliamentary attempt in the 2022 General Election—where he finished third after securing 8,166 votes—Bahati admitted that while his decision was right, his political timing was flawed.

He revealed that performing on national campaign trails in 2017 while watching his former schoolmates struggle as hired campaign goons fueled his resolve to run.

“Unaletwa u-endorse mtu unajua huyu mtu hajasaidia mtaa. And that’s how I made a last minute decision in 2022,” Bahati disclosed. “I feel like it’s the best decision I made, but politically was a mistake because I came in so late.”

Bahati noted that entering the race late meant a significant portion of the electorate went to the polls unaware of his candidature, a mistake he aims to correct ahead of the 2027 General Election.