KERUGOYA, Kenya — Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua has described the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election as a political contest between President William Ruto and the Kikuyu community, claiming the outcome reflects growing opposition to the President’s re-election bid ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Speaking during a church service at ACK St Thomas Cathedral in Kerugoya on Sunday, the former Deputy President said the landslide defeat suffered by the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) in the Nyandarua mini-poll was a direct message from the Mt Kenya region to President Ruto.
“The Ol Kalou contest was not about individual candidates. It was a contest between President Ruto and the Kikuyu community, and the people have spoken. If nothing changes, he should expect the same outcome in 2027,” Gachagua said.
The former Deputy President said he deliberately stayed away from the Ol Kalou campaigns despite receiving calls from influential leaders urging him to join the opposition campaign trail.
“Many people called me asking why I didn’t go to Ol Kalou, but I knew the contest was between Ruto and the community. There is no way the community could lose this election,” he said.
His remarks come in the wake of the closely watched Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election, which was widely viewed as an early test of political influence in the Mt Kenya region ahead of the next General Election.
The by-election was won by DCP candidate Sammy Douglas Kamau Waweru, popularly known as Sammy Ngotho, who garnered 35,440 votes to defeat UDA’s Samuel Muchina Nyagah, who received 5,450 votes.
The contest attracted intense campaigns from both government and opposition leaders, with senior UDA officials traversing the constituency to rally support for their candidate, while opposition leaders framed the election as a referendum on the Kenya Kwanza administration.
Gachagua also accused President Ruto of betraying the Kikuyu community despite its overwhelming support during the 2022 General Election, alleging that the Head of State had targeted the region by removing its sons and daughters from strategic government positions.
The DCP leader further claimed that the President was pursuing a deliberate strategy to weaken the Mt Kenya voting bloc by encouraging political divisions within the region.
According to Gachagua, recent remarks by Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku distinguishing Mt Kenya East from Mt Kenya West were part of a broader political strategy aimed at fragmenting the region’s influence ahead of the 2027 polls.
Last week, Ruku sparked debate after declaring that leaders and residents from Mt Kenya East were no longer concerned with the political affairs of Mt Kenya West following the Ol Kalou by-election.
“We as Mt Kenya East do not care what happens in Mt Kenya West,” Ruku said in one of his public statements.
In another message, he added: “We don’t care! We’re Mt Kenya East!”
Gachagua, however, dismissed the sentiments and urged residents of the broader Mt Kenya region to remain united, warning that political divisions would weaken the region’s bargaining power.
“The only way Ruto can come back to power is if he succeeds in dividing the Mountain vote. If we add our votes to those of other Kenyans, he will go home,” Gachagua said.
“We cannot divide this Mountain; we must remain one. He knows that, which is why he has brought Ruku to divide the Mountain.”
The former Deputy President maintained that the outcome of the Ol Kalou by-election demonstrated that voters in the region remained united and would resist attempts to split the Mt Kenya vote ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The Ol Kalou by-election has since triggered renewed political debate, with leaders from both the ruling coalition and the opposition offering differing interpretations of the outcome as political realignments gather pace ahead of the next national polls.