Dan Maanzo: Many people around Ruto are unlikely to be re-elected
By Mabonga Makhanu, January 27, 2026Makueni Senator Dan Maanzo has spelt doom for leaders around President William Ruto, saying that they are unlikely to be elected in 2027.
While speaking during an interview on a local TV station on Tuesday, January 27, 2025, the outspoken senator argued that most leaders allied to the president have lost touch with the ground and will not be voted in in 2027.
He further took aim at the president, who held a National Governing Council (NGC) meeting at State House with United Democratic Alliance (UDA) leaders, who during the high-level forum stated that in 2027 he would win with a higher margin of over 3 million votes than in 2022, when he won with only 200,000 votes.
Maanzo opposed Ruto’s remarks, stating that he would instead lose by 3,000,000 votes, since, according to him, the ground is tough for leaders allied to the president and they have lost the mandate of the people they represent.
“Individuals he met with at State House—are they with the country? Most of the people around him are unlikely to be re-elected in 2027. I don’t think they have the mandate of the people they represent.”
He went ahead to state that Ruto’s plan to swallow the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) will not materialise.
Ruto’s landslide victory
This comes after the president announced that he is targeting to win by a landslide in 2027, dwarfing his competitors by 2-3 million votes
Speaking at State House during the UDA National Governing Council (NGC) meeting on Monday, January 26, 2026, Ruto said lessons from past political turbulence had informed the formation of the current broad-based government, which he described as a success.
“As we talk today, we have a broad-based government arrangement. Tulikuwa na matatizo, makelele, fujo, na maandamano, na tukasema in every challenge, there is a silver lining, and there is opportunity if you look carefully. In that challenge, we decided to create an opportunity out of it,” Ruto said.
The Head of State went ahead to note that the partnership between the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) had proven effective, arguing that it had helped calm political temperatures and improve governance.
“Today, we have a broad-based government with our friends the ODM party, and we have agreed that this broad-based government has worked. It is said that if it is working, don’t fix it,” he said.
Ruto revealed that discussions are already underway between UDA and ODM leadership on the possibility of forming a coalition ahead of the next election.
He said the goal is to avoid a narrowly contested race like the 2022 election, which he won by a margin of about 200,000 votes.