NYAHURURU, Kenya – Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has declared that the Mount Kenya region is targeting at least 7.1 million votes in the 2027 General Election as part of a campaign to remove President William Ruto from office.
Speaking during a press briefing in Nyahururu, Nyandarua County, after the Democratic for Citizens Party (DCP) secured a commanding victory in the Ol Kalou by-election, Gachagua said the region was determined to reverse what he described as the mistake of backing Ruto in the 2022 presidential election.
The former deputy president acknowledged that Mount Kenya played a pivotal role in delivering President Ruto to State House, saying the region now bears responsibility for the country’s current challenges.
“I want to admit and acknowledge that I, Rigathi Gachagua, and the people of Mount Kenya are, to a large extent, responsible for the mess our country is in. We handed this administration nearly half of the votes that brought it to power. To our fellow Kenyans, we are sorry,” he said.
Gachagua said the region had learned from the outcome of the 2022 election and was now focused on mobilising enough voters to match the 7.1 million votes President Ruto received nationally to win the presidency.
According to him, the target is both political and symbolic, representing the region’s commitment to correcting what he termed a “fatal mistake.”
“William Ruto came to power with 7.1 million votes across the country. Mount Kenya is now working to mobilise and deliver at least 7.1 million votes on its own in the 2027 General Election so that we can wash away the sin we imposed on the Republic,” Gachagua stated.
The opposition leader also urged Kenyans from other regions to join a nationwide voter mobilisation campaign, saying a decisive outcome in the next election would reaffirm that political power ultimately rests with the electorate.
He cited the Ol Kalou by-election as evidence that voters could overcome political influence and state machinery through the ballot.
Gachagua argued that the outcome of the mini poll demonstrated that united citizens could not be intimidated or denied their democratic choice, regardless of the resources deployed against them.
Following the Ol Kalou victory, he said the opposition would intensify efforts to build a national movement ahead of the 2027 General Election, expressing confidence that the momentum witnessed in the by-election would spread across the country as campaigns to unseat President Ruto gather pace.