“It’s over, Mr President”: Gachagua declares Ruto’s political fate sealed after Ol Kalou defeat

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua yesterday declared that President William Ruto’s political fate has been sealed following the United Democratic Alliance (UDA)’s crushing defeat in the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election, describing the outcome as a national verdict against the Kenya Kwanza administration.

Speaking in Nyahururu yesterday, a day after the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) candidate Sammy Douglas Kamau Waweru won the seat by a landslide, Gachagua said the by-election was far more than a constituency contest, insisting it reflected growing public dissatisfaction with President Ruto’s leadership across the country.

“I am a leader who listens to the ground. I listen to the people. From what I have heard, I would like to contextualise what happened in Ol Kalou in the greater conversation of the Republic of Kenya. All over this country, people have told us they are done with William Ruto. It is finished; it is over, Mr President,” Gachagua said.

The former deputy president argued that Kenyans had resolved to vote out the Kenya Kwanza administration in the 2027 General Election but claimed many remained concerned about whether the outcome would be respected.

“The people are resolute that they will not vote for this rogue administration again. But they have one fear. Their fear is not that he’ll win; they know he can lose. They fear that when William Ruto loses, he will refuse to accept it and steal the election. He’ll use stolen money he is accumulating and the capacity for violence he is building up to take victory by force,” Gachagua alleged.

His remarks came as President Ruto responded to UDA’s humiliating loss by urging leaders to put politics aside and focus on serving wananchi, saying elections come and go but leadership is ultimately judged by performance.

Ruto called on leaders to shun divisive politics and work together irrespective of political affiliations.

“Do not allow those who want to divide us along ethnic lines to succeed — those belong to the other side, those who deserve shares and those who do not. That is foolish politics,” the President said.

“And that is why I ask all leaders, including the MP who was elected yesterday in Ol Kalou, now that we have been elected, let us get to work. Every leader will be judged by their work when the time comes.”

The President said Kenyans were capable of evaluating leaders based on their track record, vision and development agenda rather than political rhetoric.

“Citizens are wise; they know. Every leader must have a track record, must have a vision and must have a plan, so that we can all work together to ensure we transform our nation of Kenya,” he said.

The Ol Kalou by-election had been closely watched as a key political contest in the vote-rich Mt Kenya region, with both UDA and Gachagua’s DCP treating it as a major test of influence ahead of the 2027 General Election.

Speaking at State House, Nairobi, yesterday, while hosting grassroots leaders from Bungoma County led by Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa, the President said the people of Ol Kalou had exercised their democratic right and elected the candidate of their choice.

Official results showed DCP’s Sammy Douglas Kamau Waweru securing a commanding 35,440 votes, defeating UDA’s Samuel Muchina Nyagah, who garnered 5,450 votes.

The remaining seven candidates shared fewer than 200 votes each in an election that recorded a voter turnout of about 57 per cent across 144 polling stations in the constituency’s five wards.

The outcome has handed Gachagua a significant political victory in his Mt Kenya backyard while dealing a major setback to President Ruto and UDA, which had deployed senior government officials and mounted an intensive campaign in a bid to retain the seat.

The by-election result is expected to intensify political realignments ahead of the 2027 polls, with both camps now interpreting the outcome as an early indicator of the shifting political landscape in the region.