By Hassan Wekesa - Editor
Kenya, 18 October 2026 - Kikuyu Member of Parliament Kimani Ichung’wah has said the communities of Mt Kenya must re-elect President William Ruto so that he can serve the remaining five years of the 10-year pledge.
Ichung’wah, who is the Majority Leader in the National Assembly, was speaking on Sunday at a political rally in Kapsabet Town.
“We the people of Mt Kenya in 2022 kept off ethnic-propelled politics and elected William Kipchirchir Arap Ruto,” he said.
He said the region had honoured a political debt after Kenya’s fourth President, Uhuru Kenyatta, completed his 10 years in office.
“Uhuru said he would serve 10 years and support his then Deputy President William Ruto to complete his 10 years,” Ichung’wah said.
Uhuru and Ruto, popularly known as “UhuRuto”, came to power in 2013 and were re-elected in 2017. In 2022, however, Ichung’wah said the outgoing Uhuru went back on that commitment and backed the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga under the Azimio La Umoja-One Kenya Alliance. Raila lost to Ruto, who secured 87 per cent of the valid votes cast in Mt Kenya.
The impeachment of Ruto’s former Deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, in October 2024 has since become a political headache for the President, as Gachagua has amassed support in the region. He insists that his Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) will sweep the parliamentary seats in Mt Kenya and deny Ruto votes. Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) is struggling in the region.
At the same rally, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said President Ruto was keen to develop every region of the country to achieve equitable development. He said the President had built roads, upgraded stadiums to spur sports growth and launched hospital projects across the country.
“In Trans Nzoia, President Ruto launched a Level 5 Hospital in Kitale on Friday, but I hear the Governor there plans to organise protests. We dare them, they think backwards always,” Murkomen said.
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He added that such a mindset, and politicians who think only about alcoholic beverages, were dangerous to the country.
Trans-Nzoia Governor George Natembeya has been quoted saying he will block the construction of the Kitale Level 5 Hospital. He said he was prepared to bear any consequences to defend the county’s constitutional responsibilities and accused the President of undermining devolved governments.
Natembeya announced plans to camp at the proposed site on Monday, when a team from the Kenya Army is due to begin construction.
“They will build this hospital over my dead body,” he said, adding that he was ready to die for speaking the truth.
At the launch, President Ruto unveiled a KSh 1 billion upgrade of the Trans-Nzoia County Level 5 Hospital. He also criticised the governor for resisting the national government’s development and transformation programmes.
Ruto said his UDA party was keen to ensure that all Kenyans benefit from development, regardless of their ethnic, religious or political leanings.