“If You Didn’t Vote for Me, Leave When the Cake Arrives!” Nakuru West MP Samuel Arama Tells Parents

Sign InPolitics"If You Didn’t Vote for Me, Leave When the Cake Arrives!" Nakuru West MP Samuel Arama Tells ParentsBy George Ndeto · November 3, 2026 · 2 min readSponsored AdNakuru Town West Member of Parliament Samuel Arama has sparked intense public debate after warning parents who voted against him to walk out of a public gathering as soon as refreshments are served.

The lawmaker made the controversial remarks on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, during an ongoing National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) bursary distribution exercise at the constituency offices.

While the distribution of the actual education bursaries continued, the legislator drew a sharp line when it came to the social hospitality accompanying the official event.

Addressing the large gathering of parents seeking school fees support, Arama explicitly commanded anyone who did not support his 2022 parliamentary bid to excuse themselves once the sodas and cakes are rolled out.

He claimed the refreshments were a personal gesture funded entirely out of his own pocket rather than taxpayer resources.

“Kama wewe ni muungwana, na hukunipigia kura, watu wakianza kunywa soda na keki kwa sababu hiyo ni pesa yangu, wewe toka uende,” Arama declared to the crowd. “Sasa unakunywa soda ya mtu hukumpigia kura aje? Na hii pesa si ya constituency, ni yangu.”

The MP questioned the integrity of residents who would oppose his leadership at the ballot but comfortably sit through a ceremony to consume his personal refreshments.

He maintained that while the public bursary forms remain open to eligible beneficiaries, the extra treats are strictly reserved for his political loyalists.

The incident has triggered a massive storm online, with a cross-section of Kenyans condemning the conditional hospitality as a demeaning approach to grassroots leadership.

The backlash follows a separate uproar in September where the lawmaker faced criticism for tossing loaves of bread directly into a scrambling crowd of residents during a local feeding initiative.

Local civil society representatives have reminded public officials that state-backed exercises like bursary rollouts must remain entirely non-partisan, warning against the weaponisation of social handouts to alienate voters.