Ntutu, Barasa shine in first-term governors' approval ratings

By Peter Ochieng

Narok governor Patrick Ole Ntutu and Kakamega County's Fernandes Barasa are shoulders above their colleagues, as far as approval ratings for first term county bosses is concerned.

According to a survey conducted by Politrack, Ntutu is the highest-rated first-term governor with a 78.6% approval rating.

Fernandes Barasa follows closely with a 75.4% approval rating, ahead of Uasin Gishu County’s Jonathan Bii who was ranked third at 72.1%.

Homabay governor Gladys Wanga was ranked best among women first term governors, with a 70.1% rating.

Her Machakos counterpart Wavinya Ndeti came second, emerging among the top five overall performers.

At the other end of the table, Nyandarua County’s Badilisha Kiarie received the lowest rating at 36.9%.

Taita Taveta's Andrew Mwadime (37.2%) and Susan Kihika of Nakuru (37.3%), were also ranked among the least popular governors.

The Politrack’s survey gave a glimpse of varying public perceptions of county leadership, with transparency, revenue collection, and planning compliance emerging as key benchmarks for success.

“The survey’s execution was driven by the need to provide insights into the current political landscape and gauge the popularity of these new county leaders from the perspective of public perception,” the survey report reads in part.

The survey assessed approval ratings across 28 counties with first-time governors.