The Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Musalia Mudavadi, has firmly dismissed calls for him to become President William Ruto’s running mate in the 2027 general election, saying he has no interest in the position.

Speaking during a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) meeting in Kiminini, Trans Nzoia County, on Thursday, July 9, 2026, Mudavadi said he had already served as Kenya’s vice president and that the only position he now aspires to is the presidency. He emphasised that he is not seeking any office below that.

“I am not interested in the running mate slot; I aim to be the president in 2032,” he said.

His remarks came amid growing calls from leaders in the Western Kenya region, led by former Kiminini MP Chris Wamalwa, who urged President Ruto to pick the UDA deputy party leader and former Amani National Congress (ANC) leader as his running mate in the next election.

Mudavadi’s presidential ambitions

Mudavadi reiterated that his immediate focus is to support President Ruto and the UDA administration in securing re-election in 2027. He stated that his political objective is to ensure Ruto completes two terms in office, after which he hopes to pursue the presidency in 2032, when the president’s second and final constitutional term would come to an end, should he be re-elected in 2027.

Reflecting on his decision to merge ANC with UDA, Mudavadi said the move was strategic.

“Mimi nimeongoza chama cha ANC na najua umuhimu wa chama. Nilifanya uamuzi na wafuasi wetu na tukajiunga na UDA ili footprint yetu iwe kubwa zaidi na ishike kila mahali kuanzia Western, twende Rift Valley, twende Coast, twende Mt Kenya, twende Eastern, Nyanza, Nairobi, North Eastern na kila pahali ili tuwe tayari kuchukua uongozi wa Kenya,” he said.

“Lazima tutapimana nguvu baada ya kumpa Ruto 2nd term mwaka wa 2027, na tukiwa na hiyo footprint kubwa kama tumeshika kila mahali, hiyo itatupatia nafasi nzuri ya kuwa president kutoka eneo la Magharibi,” he added.

Mulembe region’s DP slot quest

Musalia Mudavadi’s remarks contradict the position taken during the Naivasha meeting, which comprised Western Kenya MPs and presided over by Ford Kenya party leader and National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula.

During the meeting, Wetang’ula, together with the Western Kenya MPs, demanded that the deputy president position be given to the region, saying it has the numbers to produce one of its own.

The caucus also floated Wetang’ula as one of the possible candidates, arguing that the region has the numbers to demand the position.

Ayub Savula’s stance

Kakamega Deputy Governor Ayub Savula, who was part of the meeting and the subsequent press briefing, later came out to distance himself from that position.

Just like Mudavadi, he declared that the region is not interested in the deputy president position but in the presidency in 2032.

He added that the region has had enough vice presidents who have yielded nothing significant to the Mulembe region.