SHE MEANS BUSINESS| My Ksh. 100 Million Campaign Budget for Woman Rep - Nominated Senator Tabitha Mutinda

The IEBC has scheduled the official campaign period for May 29 to August 7, 2027, with party primaries and nominations to precede the campaigns. Under the proposed campaign-finance framework, spending limits for governor, senator and woman representative candidates vary by county, with Nairobi's ceiling at KSh181 million.

For Nominated Senator Tabitha Mutinda, however, the financial conversation goes beyond how much candidates are legally allowed to spend.

In the second episode of She Means Business: Women in Politics, Mutinda reveals that she has set aside a campaign budget of KSh100 million for her bid to become Nairobi's Woman Representative in 2027.

But Mutinda's message to aspiring politicians is not simply about raising money. She argues that politics should not be treated as a career that requires people to abandon the professions or businesses they have built.

She advocates for financial independence and "side hustles", saying both men and women entering politics should retain an income stream outside elected office.

Mutinda says she continues to earn from her business even while serving as a nominated senator, a strategy she believes offers financial security beyond the five-year political cycle.

The 2027 bid is also a political comeback of sorts. Mutinda had initially sought the Nairobi Woman Representative seat in 2022 but stepped aside after President William Ruto, then UDA's presidential candidate, asked her to give way to Millicent Omanga. Omanga subsequently lost the race to ODM's Esther Passaris, who secured 698,929 votes against Omanga's 586,246.

Now, as the race opens up again, Mutinda says she is ready to make a second attempt, this time with experience in Parliament, a clearer agenda and, she argues, greater preparation for the demands of the seat.