Saboti Member of Parliament Caleb Amisi has warned President William Ruto against assuming that votes from Western Kenya and Nyanza can replace support lost in Mt Kenya.

Speaking to the media on Saturday, July 25, 2026, Amisi said Mt Kenya remained too important to be replaced by one region.

“You cannot replace Mt Kenya with any region. Remember there was a time we had 42 against one. We tried that narrative with Raila Odinga, and it did not work,” Amisi said.

He argued that Mt Kenya voters played a decisive role in Ruto’s 2022 victory and now wanted their political power back.

Amisi’s remarks challenge a growing campaign by government-allied leaders to build Ruto a new voting bloc in Western Kenya and Nyanza ahead of the 2027 General Election.

Western leaders promise Ruto millions of votes

Kakamega Deputy Governor Ayub Savula has said Western and Nyanza leaders intend to transfer votes previously given to Raila Odinga to Ruto.

Savula has promised to deliver 2.6 million Western Kenya votes. He said the campaign would be coordinated by Bungoma Governor Ken Lusaka, with support from government-allied leaders across the region.

Lusaka has also said the government is targeting four million votes in Western Kenya. He argued that voter numbers in the region had previously been suppressed.

Western Kenya is projected to have about 3.2 million voters in the 2027 election. Delivering four million votes would therefore require a major registration drive and extremely high turnout.

Why Mt Kenya remains critical to Ruto

The 2022 presidential figures show the size of Ruto’s challenge.

Ruto received 7,176,141 votes nationally. Raila secured 6,942,930. The difference was only about 233,000 votes.

The 10 Mt Kenya counties delivered about 2.94 million votes to Ruto. Raila received approximately 847,000 votes in the same region. That support formed one of the main foundations of Ruto’s victory.

Amisi’s argument is that replacing nearly three million loyal votes would require more than political endorsements from Western and Nyanza leaders.

Ruto would need high voter registration, strong turnout and a major shift among voters who backed Raila in 2022. He would also need to retain part of the Mt Kenya vote.

Kenya’s Constitution requires a presidential candidate to secure more than 50 per cent of all valid votes and at least 25 per cent in 24 counties.

Ruto can expand his support in Western and Nyanza. However, completely abandoning Mt Kenya would make his 2027 re-election path significantly harder.