Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku has dismissed allegations that the government spent billions of shillings to secure the victory for the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and that the government incurred no expenditure to manipulate the results of the recently held Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election.

Speaking in an interview with a local radio station on Monday, July 20, 2026, Ruku said the amount of money and items distributed in the constituency was about Ksh 100 million, which he said were from UDA’s resources and not from the National Treasury.

“The estimated Ksh100M that was spent in Ol Kalou is not government money but the political party’s (UDA) money,” Ruku said.

The CS has noted that the party funded the distribution of thousands of six-kilogram LPG gas cylinders, mattresses, food donations, water pipes, electricity poles, and cash handouts, as well as two motorised fishing boats worth Ksh5 million. He also added that over 20,000 fish fingerlings were handed out to aid fish farming in the region.

Ruku also pointed out several development projects that were highlighted during the campaign period, such as the rehabilitation of the Nairobi-Nyahururu railway line, 37 KM of road development at Ithanagani-Ngorika-Kanyiriri, and the installation of translucent roofing at vending areas at the Ol Kalou Market, among others.

“In any case, the government does not finance election campaigns, but the party does. Keep in mind that UDA has funds that it receives from the Political Parties Fund,” Ruku said.

Ruku responds to Gachagua

The Cabinet Secretary’s remarks came on the heels of an allegation by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua that President William Ruto’s administration overspent Ksh1 billion in cash and over Ksh14 billion on government works in Nyandarua County in a bid to sway voters in the by-election.

The former DP said the deployment of senior government officials, increased security measures, and the provision of supplies, including gas cylinders, mattresses and cash, were a larger systematic effort to sway the voter.

Gachagua said the voters had rejected UDA’s machinations by voting for the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) candidate, Sammy Kamau Ngotho, over UDA’s Samuel Muchina despite its mammoth spending. He termed the event a “dress rehearsal” for the 2027 general election, as it appeared like a political battle between President Ruto and the Mt Kenya region.