President Ruto MPs in Mt Kenya work on Plan B ahead of 2027
By Print Reporter, June 28, 2025A growing number of Members of Parliament (MPs) allied to President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza administration are quietly strategising how to exit the government in what is being described as a bid for political survival ahead of the 2027 general election.
Sources indicate that more than 100 legislators, mainly from the politically influential Mount Kenya and Western Kenya regions, have been holding behind-the-scenes meetings with their grassroots campaigners and advisors.
Their objective is to prepare the ground for a potential political realignment as discontent with Ruto’s administration mounts in their constituencies.
The MPs have reportedly been mobilising their constituents and testing the waters for a political shift by gauging the public mood, which they say has been changing rapidly, especially in the wake of controversial policy decisions, unpopular tax measures, and general hostility on the ground.
Political analyst and university lecturer Dr Martin Oloo says there is nothing new with the development, given the fact that in the last general election, 75 per cent of sitting MPs lost their seats.
“It is unfortunate that a big number of current MPs have lost touch with realities on the ground and have instead chosen to survive on handouts from State House and short-lived political survival. This is likely to cost them dearly,” says Dr Oloo.
Dr Oloo says the apparent widespread discontent with President Ruto’s government, particularly in Mt Kenya and other parts of the country, is likely to impact the reelection of the MPs supporting him.
Already, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua warned Mt Kenya leaders who support President Ruto despite his ‘betrayal’ of the region that they will face the backlash in the next general election.
Gachagua has vowed to decampaign the political leaders, adding that he will ensure they are rejected at the ballot.
“This region will vote out all leaders who prioritise their own interests over the community. Those who sell our people for their personal gain will never see leadership again in Mt. Kenya,” Gachagua has warned.
According to insiders, several MPs from Mount Kenya are facing increasing pressure from their voters, who have grown increasingly disillusioned with the Kenya Kwanza government. This pressure has led to several MPs operating from Nairobi due to the fear of being attacked by enraged constituents.
“Some of the MPs have completely disappeared from their electoral areas, and their presence is only felt on television screens or when the Deputy President Prof Kithure Kindiki is visiting any constituency in Mt Kenya,” Kiambu Senator Karungo Thangwa says.
The majority of the voters in the region, once considered a stronghold for Ruto, are reportedly unhappy with what they term as betrayal and marginalisation after overwhelmingly voting for the president in 2022.
“Let me speak for myself,” said one MP from Kiambu, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation. “I have told my people to be patient with me, to allow me to speak the language of the government. But on the ground, we continue with our own politics. I have made it clear that at the right time, I will give them the direction we are going — and it is evident that we will not be supporting this government again.”
Survival tactics
The MP told PD Wikendi that some MPs have quietly been shopping for smaller parties upon which they can defend their seats in 2027 without directly associating themselves with President Ruto, Kenya Kwanza or United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
Many in the region believe that promises made during the campaign — including equitable development, fair appointments, and protection of local interests — have not materialised.
The implementation of heavy tax laws that have adversely affected their businesses and the impeachment of Gachagua have only made things worse.
Machakos Deputy Governor Francis Mwangangi, an ally of former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, says the same is being replicated in the entire Ukambani, where some of the President’s allies are quietly courting the Wiper leader.
“Several of those purporting to push the President’s agenda in public have been approaching us in private and telling us that they are only in government at the moment to eat, but they would join us at an opportune time,” he says.
Mwangangi says the ground is increasingly becoming hostile to elected leaders, apparently aligning with the President, forcing them to rethink their political future.
Mwangangi predicts that the 2022 scenario, where about 225 out of a total of 290 elected MPs lost their seats, is likely to be replicated in the 2027 general election.
In Western Kenya, MPs have expressed concern over what they term as skewed development priorities, with several claiming that the Nyanza region — traditionally aligned with opposition leader Raila Odinga — is receiving disproportionate attention and resources at the expense of Western counties.
“It’s becoming increasingly difficult to explain to our people why other regions that didn’t support this government are being rewarded while we are being sidelined. Our supporters are not fools — they have told us clearly they won’t back Ruto again in 2027 unless things change drastically,” Kakamega Senator Dr Boni Khalwale told PD Wikendi.
Dr Khalwale added that while he remains technically aligned with the ruling coalition, his current focus is purely on implementing local projects and remaining relevant to his constituents.
“Truth be told, the ground has shifted, and our people have moved on. I don’t see how this administration will make it for another five years,” he said. “We are telling our people openly that we will give them a new political direction soon.”
One of President Ruto’s consistent critics, Saboti MP Caleb Amisi, on June 27, 2025, told PD Wikendi that he would not walk in the park for President Ruto in the Western region in 2027.
“I have moved around the entire Western, and I sense danger for Ruto. The dissent is evidently clear. Some of the leaders you see praising him in public are quietly working on their Plan Bs, and don’t be surprised to see them deserting him at the eleventh hour,” Amisi says.
Several MPs from various parts of the country confided that they are merely “playing along” with the government to protect their current access to state resources and development projects. They claim that being in opposition at the moment would limit their ability to bring government services to their regions.
“Politics is dynamic,” Dr Oloo says. “These leaders know that open rebellion at this stage could lead to political and financial isolation. They’re biding their time — but make no mistake, they’re preparing to bolt out.”
The MPs’ disquiet is further compounded by a wave of public protests and increasing youth agitation. On Wednesday, June 25, 2025, young Kenyans took to the streets for the umpteenth time to protest against alleged bad governance, high cost of living, corruption, increased police abductions and extrajudicial killings and opulence among senior Kenya Kwanza personalities.
The protests that began last year, largely led by Gen Z activists, have shaken the political establishment and forced some leaders to quietly reconsider their allegiances.
Three weeks ago, President Ruto’s senior economic advisor, Moses Kuria, made a surprising prediction regarding the 2027 general election.
Speaking on a local TV station, Kuria likened the upcoming election to Kenya’s historic 2002 poll, where opposition forces united to sweep KANU out of power in a landslide victory for the late Mwai Kibaki.
“Let me shock you,” Kuria said. “Some people are training for a football match that will not happen. 2027 will be like 2002. There will be no presidential election — there will be a consensus.”
Just like the late former President Mwai Kibaki was widely accepted by the political heavyweights in 2002, the former CS said that a similar situation is likely to emerge ahead of 2027.
“Kibaki had pre-agreed, ‘have you ever seen that margin again’… because it was a moment. 2027 will be another moment like 2002; it is not going to be an election in the sense that we are thinking. There is going to be so much consensus in the country,” he said.
While Kuria did not elaborate on what kind of consensus he envisioned, his comments have fueled speculation that some form of grand political realignment is on the horizon.
Political analysts now suggest that the disillusionment within Kenya Kwanza could lead to the emergence of a powerful opposition alliance — possibly mirroring the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) of 2002 — bringing together unlikely partners against the incumbent regime.
But the most popular school of thought is that President Ruto could transform his broad-based government with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga into a coalition government after bringing other players who would have fallen out of favour with the Gachagua-Kalonzo-Fred Matiang’i axis.
But political observers believe that with many MPs now openly questioning the president’s leadership and vowing to “show their true colours” closer to the elections, Kenya could be headed for a dramatic political shake-up.