NAIROBI, Kenya- Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua says lessons from the controversial Mbeere North by-election shaped his strategy in Ol Kalou, accusing political actors of using government cash transfer programmes to influence elderly voters.
Speaking during an interview on KTN, Gachagua said the Mbeere contest exposed what he described as the vulnerability of beneficiaries of government social protection programmes, particularly elderly Kenyans receiving Inua Jamii stipends.
“The Mbeere election taught us that we must protect our votes. It was stolen before our own eyes,” Gachagua said.
He said that thousands of elderly voters were intimidated into believing that their government payments depended on supporting the ruling party.
“6,500 old people were forced and intimidated into believing that if they did not vote for UDA, they would not receive their money.”
Gachagua said the experience informed his message to elderly voters during the Ol Kalou by-election, where his Democratic Change Party (DCP) candidate secured a decisive victory.
“We corrected that in Ol Kalou. We had a message to the old people: cash transfer is your right; these are public funds,” he said.
“And the old people heard.”
Gachagua framed the Ol Kalou outcome as evidence that voters had rejected attempts to influence them through government programmes and material incentives.
He has repeatedly positioned the by-election victory as a warning ahead of the 2027 General Election, arguing that short-term benefits can no longer sway voters.
The DCP leader has also accused the government of deploying state machinery during by-elections, claims that have been disputed by UDA leaders.
UDA suffered a humiliating defeat in Ol Kalou, after DCP won with more than 30,000 votes.
