Nairobi: President William Ruto is the first sitting Kenyan President to visit Nyatike Constituency in Migori since Kenya attained its independence in 1963. In under one year, the President has visited the Constituency for a record three times. Nyatike Constituency has a population of approximately 200,000 people and is ranked as one of Kenya’s most remote but resource-rich areas in the country. The controversial Migingo Island, the 16th-Century old Thimlich Ohinga UNESCO World Heritage Site, and beaches located in Sori Bay and Muhuru Bay are found in Nyatike.
According to Kenya News Agency, his visits in 2024 and 2025 shattered decades of neglect, bringing national attention to the generally previously overlooked gem in Migori County. The recent visit by President Ruto to attend the 5th Piny Luo festival has signalled renewed focus on development and heritage in Nyanza. His visit to Nyatike’s Senye Beach and the famous Thimlich Ohinga archaeological site shows the Sub-County remains a strategic location that has amplified the significance of these visits.
To make the visit memorable for decades, President Ruto announced that the government will build a Sh50 million cultural centre at Thimlich Ohinga, a UNESCO World Heritage Site of outstanding universal value, which represents Luo heritage dating back over 400 years. The newly built centre will help to promote and upgrade tourism, transforming Nyatike into a world-class attraction site, boosting job opportunities in hospitality and crafts in Migori County while preserving cultural landmarks of the Luo community.
Bordering Tanzania to the south and Uganda to the west, the constituency serves as a vital gateway for cross-border trade and for East African Community (EAC) regional integration. Nyatike’s economy thrives on Lake Victoria’s bountiful fishing grounds, where communities harvest Tilapia and Nile perch daily, contributing immensely to the economic status of the region. The Sh140million cooling plant built by the national government in Sori Bay-Nyatike some time back has also provided a platform for the preservation of fish. Although still not in full operation, the plant is a contributing factor to the growth of fish production and income generation for Nyatike residents.
The government, through the National Land Commission (NLC), was also in the process of acquiring land in Muhuru Bay to facilitate the construction of Muhuru Pier to steer the economic growth of Nyatike residents. In mainland Nyatike, the Macalder area boasts rich mineral deposits like copper and gold, while abundant quality sand, gravel, and the perennial Kuja River flowing majestically into the lake offer untapped potential for construction, mining, and irrigation projects.
President Ruto’s pioneering visits mark a deliberate shift in Kenya’s political landscape. In 2024, he arrived amid cheers from the fisherfolk, miners and locals, inaugurating infrastructure projects and promising investments in fishing cooperatives and mineral processing plants. Locals recall the electric atmosphere as the president waded into community discussions, pledging to harness Nyatike’s resources for national prosperity.
The 2025 follow-up built on that momentum with President Ruto inspecting Kuja River harnessing initiatives for hydropower and agriculture, while spotlighting Macalder’s mining revival under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA). These moves addressed long-standing challenges like poor roads isolating markets, limited access to processing facilities for fish and minerals, and underutilised sand deposits that could fuel Kenya’s housing boom.
In fact, while addressing Migori recently at Rongo University during the closure of the 5th Piny Luo cultural festival, President Ruto said that he was on a mission to correct development injustices not only in the Nyanza region but across the nation. For example, Sh23billion has been pumped into the Affordable Housing Project (AHP) in the county, with new affordable houses to be constructed in Migori, Awendo and Rongo towns. Already, the Mabera affordable housing units in Kuria West Sub-County are complete. At the same time, 7,200 hostels will also be built in Migori for various learning institutions, with 2,300 hostel units already inaugurated by President Ruto during the 5th Piny Luo festival held at Rongo University.
Dr. Ruto’s engagements align with his administration’s hustler narrative, emphasising marginalised areas. By visiting Nyatike three times in two years, unprecedented for any leader, he clearly shows he has the aim of translating his presidential trilogy into sustained development and investment in the Nyanza region. The enhancement of the security along the major crossing border point of Isebania-Sirare, the youth training in aquaculture, and UNESCO-backed conservation funds could tilt the narrative if local leaders led by Migori Governor Ochilo Ayacko could possess the necessary wherewithal to track progress.
For a constituency that lagged for long in the dark shadows, these footsteps herald hope and proof that even the furthest corners of Kenya matter in Ruto’s era. Nyatike Constituency also grapples with entrenched issues that President Ruto’s historic visits aim to address, including dilapidated roads isolating communities. Artisanal miners and fishermen, too, face daily frustrations from licence revocations, clashes along the internal border of Transmara in Narok and Kuria in Migori, and the cross-border harassment by Ugandan authorities, mainly on the Migingo Island, as well as the absence of industries stifling economic growth.
During his visit to Senye beach in Nyatike during the 5th Piny Luo festival, President Ruto said categorically that Migingo Island was in Kenya and that he will continue to use diplomatic means with his counterpart, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, to ensure that fishermen from Kenya are protected. Nyatike’s assets are a treasure trove waiting to be tapped; Lake Victoria supports over 10,000 fishers, yet post-harvest losses exceed 30 per cent due to inadequate cold chains. Macalder’s minerals, dormant since colonial-era operations, hold billions in value if modernised with environmental safeguards, while the Kuja River’s flow promises reliable water for 50,000 plus residents, enabling rice paddies and sand harvesting for the Lake Region’s construction surge.
Poor roads in Nyatike also remain a major barrier, described as ‘pathetic and impassable, ‘hindering access to markets for fish and minerals. Recent County launches offer a glimmer of hope, but national intervention is urgently needed to address these challenges. The area residents, led by Robley Ngoje, a scholar, a lawyer, and a Certified Human Resource Professional (CHRP), are urging the President to boost the education sector in the Semi-Arid Area of Nyatike that has a low secondary enrolment to ensure 100 percent students transition.
Ngoje says that income-generating activities like fishing and gold mining in Nyatike have contributed to school dropouts, leading to child labour. He urged local leaders to utilise the time during President Ruto’s visits to champion meaningful ideas that can propel the Migori people instead of dwelling on political rivalry and using the President’s visit for their own political gains. Ngoje also pointed out that the recent visit by President Ruto will catalyse road upgrades, mining regularisation, joint lake patrols, and school investments under BETA, urging the local political class from Migori to move swiftly with decisive actions to march with the President to address these challenges that risk overshadowing Nyatike’s resource potential.