NAIROBI, Kenya July 22 – Former Chief Justice David Maraga\u2019s Sh50-bob fundraising plan is quickly gaining support as more Kenyans back his 2027 presidential bid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Within just 48 hours of launching his campaign website, davidmaraga.com, his team announced that they had raised over Sh500,000 from small donations, a sign of growing frustration with President William Ruto\u2019s government and a strong desire for change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maraga, branding himself as the \u201cpeople\u2019s candidate,\u201d is betting on ordinary Kenyans to bankroll his campaign with contributions as low as Sh50.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI will put in very little money, around Sh1 million or Sh2 million. I don\u2019t have much money. We will require a substantial amount of money, and we are going to appeal to Kenyans to contribute to our campaign,\u201d he stated during the website launch on July 18, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Running under the theme \u201cReset, Restore, and Rebuild Kenya,\u201d Maraga is targeting youth and frustrated citizens who feel let down by Ruto\u2019s government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Political analysts say that if his crowdfunding model holds, it could give him the resources to mount a serious challenge in 2027, contrasting sharply with President Ruto\u2019s 2022 campaign, which was financed by billion-shilling donations from wealthy allies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maraga\u2019s approach is a direct departure from Kenya\u2019s entrenched culture of money-driven politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By leaning on the country\u2019s long-standing tradition of harambee<\/em> (community fundraising), which has built hospitals, schools, and even saved lives, Maraga hopes to spark a \u201cpeople-powered movement\u201d that rejects elite capture of political campaigns. The early success of his fundraising drive is being viewed as an indicator of public frustration over the rising cost of living, heavy taxation, and governance challenges under President Ruto\u2019s rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While critics like Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei dismissed Maraga\u2019s strategy claiming a presidential campaign needs at least Sh7 billion to be competitive, the former Chief Justice remains undeterred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maraga\u2019s campaign website, built by volunteers, is the main place where supporters can donate, sign up to help, and share their ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The quick response according to observers points to something bigger, that Kenyans are showing that even small contributions can shape the country\u2019s politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the 2027 race heats up, the focus is not just on how much money Maraga can raise, but on whether his \u201cSh50-bob army\u201d can keep the momentum and challenge a system long controlled by the wealthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, his critics have dismissed the initiative, arguing that the amount raised so far is insignificant, pointing out that far larger sums have been collected for other causes in just a short time, even within minutes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Maraga\u2019s Sh50-bob army is building a people-powered revolution, challenging Ruto\u2019s billion-shilling politics with a wave of small but powerful donations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13976,"featured_media":776477,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,4625,26],"tags":[15248,1981,491,1844],"coauthors":[1753],"class_list":["post-776471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kenya","category-national-news","category-top-stories","tag-david-maraga","tag-featured","tag-kenya","tag-william-ruto"],"yoast_head":"\n
\u201cI\u2019m confident Kenyans will come through. With the suffering they have gone through, I\u2019m sure they will contribute Sh50, Sh100, or more. Whatever is left after the campaigns will go back to a public cause,\u201d Maraga remarked, signaling transparency in how the funds will be used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n