NYANDARUA, Kenya- Preparations for a grand celebration in honour of Ol Kalou MP-elect Sammy Douglas Kamau Waweru gathered pace in the early hours of Monday, with organisers announcing that more than 59 bulls had been slaughtered to feed thousands of supporters expected at the event.
Organisers said the food preparations were complete at Mugumo residence of Nyandarua Senator John Methu, where residents and supporters had converged ahead of the victory festivities.
The celebrations come days after Waweru was declared the winner of the fiercely contested Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election, a race that attracted national attention and was viewed as a key political contest ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The campaign period was marked by intense rivalry between the ruling Kenya Kwanza coalition and the opposition-backed Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP), with both sides describing the outcome as politically significant.
Supporters from across Nyandarua and neighbouring counties are expected to attend the celebrations, with the slaughter of dozens of bulls underscoring the scale of the planned event.
The victory has been widely celebrated by Waweru’s supporters, who have described it as a major political milestone for the region following a closely watched campaign that dominated the national political conversation.
His victory is seen as a major vote of confidence for DCP leader Rigathi Gachagua in the vote-rich Mt Kenya region.
The celebrations are expected to feature music, entertainment and addresses from political leaders allied to Waweru, as supporters mark what they have described as a historic electoral victory.
The celebrations follow one of Kenya’s most fiercely contested parliamentary by-elections in recent years.
Waweru’s victory was widely viewed as an upset after he defeated the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate despite an intense State-backed campaign.
Throughout the race, the constituency was awash with incidents of voter bribery, misuse of public resources, intimidation and violence, prompting the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to launch investigations into claims of electoral malpractice.
On polling day, the election was marred by chaos after armed, masked men travelling in unmarked vehicles attacked residents, journalists and political supporters at several polling stations.
Teargas was lobbed into crowds by armed individuals despite a heavy police deployment, while election observers and human rights groups documented widespread reports of voter intimidation and inducements.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) later said the violence posed a serious threat to Kenya’s democratic process, while election observers raised concerns that the pre-election environment had been compromised by bribery and campaign disruptions.
Despite the turmoil, Waweru secured a landslide victory, polling 35,440 votes against UDA’s Samuel Muchina Nyagah, who garnered 5,450 votes- a margin of nearly 30,000 votes.
The outcome was celebrated by opposition leaders as proof that voters had rejected intimidation and attempts to influence the poll, making the Ol Kalou by-election one of the most politically significant contests ahead of the 2027 General Election.