Who Is Running for Kisii Senator in 2027?

Richard Onyonka (Senator, Kisii) won the seat in 2022 on the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) ticket. He has been named as a challenger to Simba Arati (Governor, Kisii), and an April 2026 poll included him in the governor's race. If he runs for governor, the Senate seat will be open on 10 August 2027. As of 23 September 2026 we found no published report naming declared candidates for it. That says more about the reporting than about the race; people may well be preparing quietly.

The sitting Senator

Before 2022 Onyonka was the MP for Kitutu Chache South, and at one point a deputy party leader of Ford Kenya. The IEBC cleared him to run for Kisii Senator on 31 May 2022, along with Richard Atemba of the Democratic Party and Omingo Magara, a former South Mugirango MP, on the Jubilee Party ticket, the Star reported. "It won't be business as usual, our people will come first," Onyonka said at the time.

Since 2024 he has become one of the government's sharpest critics in the Senate. He voted to impeach Rigathi Gachagua in October 2024, then turned down President Ruto's New Year's Eve state dinner at Kisii State Lodge that December, the Star reported.

On 3 August 2026 he walked John Kaguchia (Mukurweini) out of the Royal Media Services studios shortly before Kaguchia was arrested, according to the Star. In a September 2026 NTV interview he said of Linda Mwananchi: "My feeling honestly is that the success of Linda Mwananchi is what is cannibalising the outfit." Tuko reported on 17 September that he had said Uhuru Kenyatta was funding the movement. We could not check that claim independently.

The governor's race decides the Senate race

On 22 April 2026 Capital FM reported a poll, described only as a "Swiss Poll" survey, with these figures for Kisii governor. The report gave no fieldwork dates, sample size or margin of error.

According to People Daily, Onyonka has talked about the opposition backing a single candidate against Arati. Arati is ODM's deputy party leader and one of the loudest voices for a 50-50 power-sharing deal with Ruto; see where Nyanza stands after Raila.

So the Senate field waits on Onyonka. If he commits to the governor's race, Senate aspirants will come forward. If he defends his seat, several of them may decide it is not worth the fight. That explains the quiet in September 2026.

What a new Senate candidate would need

Kisii has nine constituencies, and a Senate candidate has to win votes across all of them. A strong home base is not enough, which helps people whose names are known county-wide: sitting MPs, former MPs and members of the county executive. It also helps whoever gets the ODM ticket, since ODM holds both the governor's seat and the Senate seat. The Senate result is built up from polling-station Form 38A returns into a county declaration; see how the Senate count works.

The Gusii factor in national politics

Kisii's politics in 2026 reaches well beyond the county. Fred Matiang'i, who comes from Kisii, took over as Jubilee Party leader from Uhuru Kenyatta on 22 September 2026, pending ratification by a National Delegates Convention, and he is Jubilee's presidential candidate. See how to check Matiang'i's ward campaign.

The United Democratic Alliance also stepped up its grassroots work in Kisii in September 2026, according to an aggregator's report. Any Senate candidate will be working among three camps: ODM with Arati, Jubilee with Matiang'i, and UDA.

What to watch

• Whether Onyonka formally declares for governor, and on which party.
• Whether the opposition agrees on one candidate against Arati, which would shape its Senate slate.
• Which parties got their nomination rules certified by the Registrar's 30 October 2026 deadline; see the 2027 calendar.

Onyonka built his profile in the Senate, and whoever holds the seat next will be the one overseeing Kisii's county spending. See what a senator actually does.