Embakasi East Member of Parliament (MP) Babu Owino has responded to a viral photo showing him drinking with Nick Ruto, President William Ruto’s son.

The photo has attracted mixed reactions on social media since Babu Owino is a strong critic of President Ruto and the broad-based government.

The MP has clarified that the photo was taken back in 2018 and does not represent his current lifestyle.

He stated that he last took alcohol on January 17, 2020, and is ready to transform the lives of Nairobi residents just like he transformed his own life.

“Let me clarify this for the record. The last time I drunk alcohol was on the 17th, January 2020. The photo below was taken in 2018. I have been sober for the past 5 years. I will transform the lives of Nairobians and Kenyans the way I transformed my Life,” Babu Owino said.

Plans to Unseat Sakaja

This comes as Babu Owino prepares to challenge Johnson Sakaja for the Nairobi City gubernatorial seat in the 2027 general election.

He has announced plans to contest with or without the backing of his party the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) led by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

There are also ongoing debates about Babu Owino’s particularly his position within ODM and any links to the Kenya Moja movement.

Babu Owino is serving his second term as Embakasi East MP after unseating Francis Mureithi in 2017.

Social Media Reactions

One person said,”Just because two people are in the same room, doesn’t always have to mean agreement or political alignment or even shared ideologies.People can meet …hang around and just have fun.”

Some claim it’s just hypocritic behaviour to start tarnishing Babu’s name because they don’t like him making them to start a rumour campaign especially by taking an old photo to discredit him.

There’s also a discussion whether this will harm his credibility among his supporters, depending on how the narrative plays out.

Embakasi East MP Babu Owino. PHOTO/ Babu Owino Facebook.