Poll ranks Raila most influential person in Kenya

African Union Commission chairmanship candidate Raila Odinga has been named the most influential person in Kenya following an opinion poll by Infotrak.

The survey said 26 per cent of Kenyans consider the AU Commission candidate the most influential person in the country.

The poll results released Wednesday indicated that Raila topped the list ahead of President William Ruto and impeached Deputy President, Rigathi Gachagua.

His influence spanned across demographics and regions, but he scored highest in his home tuff Nyanza with 42 per approval rating followed by the Coast (39 per cent) and Western (34 per cent).

“His ability to continuously shape public discourse and mobilise large portions of the electorate, despite not holding office, speaks to his enduring legacy,” Infotrak noted.

President Ruto came second as most influential person with seven per cent approval rating.

According to Infotrak, the President's influence was strongest in Western Kenya and Central Kenya, both key political battlegrounds.

Impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua came third with six per cent support

The poll indicated that Gachagua gained most recognition in Central and Rift Valley regions.

Embakasi East MP Babu Owino was ranked fourthe most influantial person with five per cent rating.

The MP garnered influence among the urban youth in Nairobi and Nyanza.

The Gen Z were also ranked by the pollster emerging fifth with five per cent approval rating while activist Morara Kebaso was in position six with four per cent approval rating.

According to Infotrak, influential people are those whose actions and opinions strongly influence the course of events, shaping people's views, perceptions and even behaviours.

The opinion poll was conducted between September 27 and 28, 2024.

Quantitative interviews were conducted through Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews.

The overall poll had a target survey sample size of 800 respondents with a ±3.5 per cent margin of error with 95 per cent degree of confidence.

 The survey covered all the eight regions of the country.

The poll interviewed adults aged 18 years and above at the time of the poll.

“To ensure national representativeness, the distribution of the survey sample across the regions was proportionately allocated,” Infotrak said.