Kericho senator Aaron Cheruiyot has dismissed any future gubernatorial ambitions, saying that he is past that stage.

While speaking during an interview on Herman Manyora’s podcast aired on Thursday, May 8, 2026, the outspoken senator said that the majority leader position he currently holds is much bigger than a governor’s seat.

He argued that he cannot move from a national leadership role back to what he termed ‘managing resources in the village’.

Cheruiyot went further to state that his current mandate is to accomplish the responsibility bestowed upon him by the people of Kericho.

After that, he said he will seek re-election in 2027 for his final term as senator and accomplish all his parliamentary duties before venturing into national politics in 2032.

“I am way past that. I am the Leader of the House; how can I go back to managing a few resources in the village? I am way past that,” he added.

Ruto’s 2032 succession

On regional politics, he dismissed any competition between him and Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, saying that cannot be the case.

During the same sitting, Cheruiyot, who is a close ally of President William Ruto, took a swipe at what appeared to be the president’s lamentation over how the region is preparing for the 2027 general election.

The president had expressed disappointment over the low voter registration turnout in the region.

Rift Valley politics

Cheruiyot clarified that he was actually the one who prompted the president to make the remarks.

He explained that he had earlier informed the president that people from the South Rift region had not seen him for a while because he had been busy traversing the country without stepping into his Rift Valley backyard.

According to Cheruiyot, the president was simply telling his kinsmen that if they want to see him more often in the region, they should register as voters.

He noted that, according to IEBC data, close to one million people have national IDs but have not registered as voters, forcing the president to seek political support elsewhere.

He added that if more people register as voters, the president will be more confident visiting the region frequently since he will feel assured of solid backing.