Abduba Dida’s Wife Declares Bid for Presidency After Husband was Freed from US Prison

Amina Guyo Halake, the spouse of former presidential aspirant Abduba Dida, has announced her intention to run for president in Kenya’s 2027 General Election.

Speaking on Monday, July 28, Halake revealed that she will be contesting on an Alliance for Real Change (ARC) party ticket, advocating for equal leadership rights and opportunities for women and men.

Halake cited her involvement in previous presidential campaigns as part of her qualifications, having served as the ARC Secretary General during her husband’s bids.

“I was the party secretary general and his wife at the same time. I was involved in almost everything, campaigning, his welfare at home, so there is nothing I don’t know about campaigning, the strategy, and all that,” she said.

Amina Guyo Halake announces 2027 presidential bid

Positioning herself as a new face in politics, Halake emphasized her personal experience with systemic injustices under successive governments.

“Today in Kenya, our law favours the powerful and disadvantages the poor. We cannot build a nation where the rule of law is just a symbol or a slogan. We need a leader who upholds the constitution, delivers justice for all, and fights impunity without fear or favour,” she said.

“I am not a recycled leader, I am fresh blood, and I have suffered injustices at the hands of the previous five presidents. I understand the dynamics of politics being a close contact of a former aspirant. I think I fit the bill, I am capable, and I bring the change the country needs.”

Also Read: 7 Kenyans Who Will Spearhead Maraga’s Presidential Campaign

ARC party has further invited young professionals to seek elective positions using their ticket, promising to offer them for free.

“If you are less than 35 years, in the coming by elections we have made a decision that any youth will be a granted a ticket for free. This also applies to all female aspirants,” said Badi Ali.

Halake’s husband, Abduba Dida, ran for the presidency in 2013 and 2017, losing both times to former President Uhuru Kenyatta. His post-political career, however, took a controversial turn.

In 2021, Dida was convicted in the United States and handed a seven-year prison term for charges related to stalking and issuing threats.

Records showed that he began his sentence on November 18, 2022, and served time at Big Muddy Correctional Center in Illinois.

Abduba Dida released from American prison

He was paroled on April 3, 2025, but is expected to serve the remainder of his sentence outside prison until April 2029.

Court records indicate that Dida was found guilty on two counts: the first related to stalking and transmitting threats, which earned him a two-year sentence, and a second, more serious charge of aggravated stalking and breaching a restraining order, which carried a five-year sentence.

Also Read: Abduba Dida: Life of Ex-Kenyan Presidential Candidate in US Prison

According to one of his wives, Amina Liban, Dida is now based in Minnesota and looking to revive a charitable foundation he had initiated prior to his incarceration.

“He is living in his house in Minnesota. He had started the Dida Foundation International and had completed its registration just before he was arrested. He is currently looking for an office to rent in Minnesota,” Liban told Daily Nation.

Although the Dida Foundation International is listed by U.S.-based charity evaluator Charity Navigator, it does not currently have a rating.

“We have not yet developed an algorithm to estimate its programmatic impact [or] its programs are not direct services, or it is not heavily reliant on contributions from individual donors,” states a note on the organization’s profile.

In 2024, while still incarcerated, Dida filed a legal challenge claiming his rights were being violated. He argued that he was being denied access to educational and rehabilitation programs during his imprisonment.

Amina Halake now joins a growing list of early presidential contenders, which includes gospel musician Reuben Kigame, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i, Peoples Liberation Party (PLP) Leader Martha Karua, ex-Chief Justice David Maraga, and Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah.

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