Oketch Salah, the adopted son of the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, has announced a youth empowerment initiative aimed at supporting members of the Jacaranda Bunge la Wananchi.
The initiative, set to roll out early in 2026, will see ten youths benefit from financial and business support to help them establish income-generating ventures. The beneficiaries will include five men and five women drawn from the grassroots activist movement.
Speaking on Friday, December 26, following an engagement with members of the group, Oketch revealed that each of the selected youths will receive Ksh50,000 as seed capital to kick-start their businesses.
Beyond the cash support, male beneficiaries will be provided with motorcycles, while women will receive professional hairdressing equipment to enable them to pursue self-employment.
Oketch said the programme is designed to empower young people economically while also nurturing leadership capacity at the community level.
He noted that equipping youths with practical tools and capital would allow them to grow sustainable businesses and positively impact their communities.
“Met with Jacaranda Bunge la Wananchi to strengthen leadership for greater impact. I also presented a Ksh1 million New Year gift hamper to members present,” Oketch stated.
He added that the empowerment programme would prioritise practical solutions that directly address unemployment and economic hardships faced by many young people in urban settlements.
Members of the Bunge la Wananchi movement are known for organising public forums that focus on governance, accountability, social justice, and economic empowerment at the grassroots level.
Oketch’s initiative mirrors policies championed by the late Raila Odinga, who during the 2022 general election campaign proposed a social protection programme that would have seen vulnerable households receive a monthly stipend.
The former Prime Minister had projected that the plan would benefit over one million households nationwide.
Earlier this year, Nominated Senator Beatrice Oyomo revived debate around the proposal after urging President William Ruto to consider implementing the stipend following the formation of a broad-based government.
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