Former MP Kabando wa Kabando has issued a blunt verdict on the fiercely contested Ol Kalou by-election, declaring that no amount of last-minute campaigning by President William Ruto’s team can salvage the constituency for the ruling UDA party.
“In Ol Kalou, no matter what Ruto and his team do, Ol Kalou is gone,” Kabando declared, as campaigns intensify ahead of next week’s high-stakes mini-poll.
The remarks come amid mounting allegations of lavish campaign spending in the constituency, with former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua claiming that Ruto’s administration has poured over Sh1 billion into Ol Kalou, flooding the area with cash and drawing job seekers and traders from as far as Nakuru and Nyahururu.
Gachagua has insisted that despite the financial muscle on display, voters have already made up their minds against the government’s candidate.
The July 16 by-election, triggered by the death of long-serving MP David Kiaraho in March, has morphed into a symbolic showdown between President Ruto’s UDA, represented by Samuel Muchina Nyaga, and Gachagua’s Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP), fielding businessman Sammy Ngotho, alongside other contenders including Jubilee’s Wilson Kigwa and several minor party candidates.
Political observers have described the contest as far more than a routine seat replacement, framing it instead as a litmus test for who truly controls the political heartbeat of Mt Kenya West ahead of 2027.
Recent opinion polling has offered ammunition to Kabando’s confident prediction, with a Mizani Africa survey showing DCP’s Ngotho commanding a commanding lead over UDA’s Muchina, while DCP has also reportedly out-mobilised the ruling party during nomination exercises, drawing significantly higher voter turnout than UDA managed despite fielding a smaller field of candidates.
With both camps now locked in a final full-scale campaign push before polls close, Kabando’s declaration adds fresh fuel to an already blistering political contest that many believe could shape the trajectory of Mt Kenya politics well beyond the by-election itself.