Alai: If Ruto wins Ol Kalou, he will secure 60 per cent of the Mt Kenya vote in 2027

Kileleshwa MCA Robert Alai has claimed that if President William Ruto and the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) win the upcoming Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election scheduled for July 16, 2026, the President will be on course to secure 60 per cent of the Mt Kenya vote in the 2027 general election.

Speaking during an interview on a local radio station on Monday, July 6, 2026, Alai said the by-election would serve as a litmus test of Ruto’s political strength in the vote-rich region.

“If Ruto wins the Ol Kalou by-election, he will get over 60 per cent of Mt Kenya votes in 2027,” Alai stated.

He cited the recent Mbeere North by-election, which followed the appointment of former area MP Geoffrey Ruku as Cabinet Secretary, replacing former Attorney-General Justin Muturi.

According to Alai, President Ruto deliberately orchestrated the vacancy in the Mbeere North parliamentary seat to showcase his political might in the Mt Kenya region after the opposition advanced the narrative that his influence in the region had diminished and that he would struggle to command significant support.

He argued that the UDA victory in the by-election disproved those claims and demonstrated that the president continues to enjoy considerable backing in the region.

Ruto’s inroads into Mt Kenya

This comes after former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua dismissed President William Ruto’s claims that he made his own political inroads into the Mt Kenya region without anyone’s help, insisting that it was former president Uhuru Kenyatta who introduced him to the vote-rich region.

Speaking to Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) supporters from Othaya Constituency on Monday, July 6, 2026, Gachagua said Ruto’s assertion was false, arguing that the president was welcomed and given a platform in the region through the efforts of Uhuru Kenyatta.

“It’s Uhuru who brought Ruto to Mt Kenya; even the people were worried about him, but they elected him,” Gachagua said.

Gachagua claimed that Mt Kenya residents embraced Ruto despite reservations they had about him at the time.

Gachagua dares Ruto

He questioned why the region was now turning against the president if, as Ruto claimed, he had built his support there without anyone’s backing.

“If he truly brought himself to Mt Kenya, why are the same people now rejecting him?” Gachagua posed.

The DCP leader further challenged President Ruto to hold a public rally in the Mt Kenya region without prior mobilisation, saying the turnout would reveal the President’s current standing among residents

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