Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has claimed President William Ruto has spent Ksh1 billion in an effort to win the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election.
The Ol Kalou mini-poll is set to be settled on July 16, 2026, but now the political temperatures are rising as each party woos the voters to their side.
Gachagua has now claimed the president is playing dirty and has spent a huge amount of money in order to win the parliamentary seat.
“William Ruto amemwaga pesa hapo Ol Kalou Ksh1 billion. Pale hakuna hata change ya elfu moja. Ukinunua chai unalipa na elfu hata kama chai ni ya mia moja; hakuna change. Unaambiwa, ‘Na ujue hapa hakuna change’. Pale pesa inatumika ni elfu moja,” Gachagua said on Friday, July 3, 2026, at his Wamunyoro home in Nyeri when he met with consultative leaders from Narok County.
“Hata watu wanauliza ati si uchaguzi isongeshwe iende mpaka December. Sasa mpaka imefika pahali ile constituency jirani wanaanza kusema, ‘Si Mungu atusaidie huyu mheshimiwa wetu; amchukue ndio Ruto amwage huku pesa.’ Kwa sababu ile pesa iko Ol Kalou, watu wametoka Nakuru wamekomboa manyumba.
“Wengine wametoka Nyahururu. Kila siku vijana wanatoka wanazunguka na bodaboda, kila siku jioni wanatengeneza elfu tano. Sasa pale lugha ni moja, huyu Ruto tulimchagua 2022 na hakupatia sisi chochote, nafasi imepatikana arudishe mkono. Wanakula pesa yake lakini kura ikipigwa atashangaa,” Gachagua added.
Although nine candidates have been cleared to run in the by-election, eyes are mostly on the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) flagbearer Sammy Kamau Ngotho and United Democratic Alliance’s Samuel Muchina Nyaga.
Ready to punish Ruto
Gachagua added that the voters from the Mount Kenya region are ready to vote out President Ruto in 2027 for what he claims is betrayal from the Head of State.
“Kura ya kufukuza mtu ni tamu. The mountain people love that vote. Ya kufukuza mtu aende nyumbani, wanafurahia sana. “Na wewe, William Ruto, I want to tell you, hujui hawa watu wa mlima. Wewe endelea kumwaga pesa yako hapa vile unamwaga Ol Kalou. Haujui hawa watu,” he stated.
“Uliza Gideon Moi akwambie kile baba yake alikuwa anaona hapa. Hapa kwetu Mathira alikuwa anapata 800 votes pekee yake out of 60,000. Hapa mlimani, there is no constituency ambayo Ruto atafikisha kura elfu moja.”
