President William Ruto’s recent tours of the South Rift and Nyanza have increasingly taken on a political character, with the President combining the launch and inspection of government projects with direct appeals for votes ahead of the 2027 General Election.
During his tour of Kericho, Dr Ruto asked residents to obtain identification documents and register as voters, saying the presidency is ultimately decided through the ballot.
"The presidential seat is won through votes,” Ruto said, while asking the region to deliver one million votes for his re-election bid.
The President has also used the tours to highlight government projects, arguing that his administration’s record should form the basis on which voters judge it in 2027.
In Nyanza, Ruto toured Kisumu, Siaya, Homa Bay and Migori, where the Government highlighted projects covering roads, housing, health, water and markets. The Star reported that projects worth more than Sh220 billion were being implemented across the four counties.
Ruto has repeatedly rejected claims that his administration failed to deliver on the promises made during the 2022 election campaign.
“They went around for three years saying we had over promised, today we are telling them that our delivery can be seen,” he said during the South Rift tour.
The President has also pointed to road construction and other infrastructure projects as evidence of his record.
“Today we can demonstrate with evidence, with programs, with projects that we have transformed our nation,” Ruto said, according to the Daily Nation.
His political opponents have interpreted the tours differently, accusing the President of using government programmes to strengthen his political support ahead of 2027.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has said the opposition’s immediate objective is to remove Ruto from power and restore what he describes as meritocracy, constitutionalism and the rule of law.
“We must restore meritocracy in government,” Sifuna said while responding to Ruto’s criticism of the opposition’s agenda.
Sifuna has also challenged the Government over its spending priorities, questioning reports that Sh12 billion had been spent on hospitality at State House while government institutions were facing funding pressures.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has meanwhile indicated that opposition parties could settle on a ticket based on which candidate is best placed to defeat Ruto.
“If we do our arithmetic and find that Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna will send President William Ruto home early, so be it,” Gachagua said.
Gachagua went further, saying he was prepared to serve as Sifuna’s running mate if that became the preferred opposition arrangement.
“And there is no problem, by the way, even I, Riggy G, can deputise Sifuna,” he said.
The competing messages are already shaping the political contest more than a year before the 2027 election. Ruto is presenting government projects and his administration’s record to voters, while opposition figures are seeking to build a coalition around the argument that the President should serve only one term.
Ruto has dismissed that strategy, telling his opponents to develop an agenda for Kenyans rather than one centred on removing him from office.
“Their agenda is one term, Kasongo. They should find an agenda for Kenyans and not William Ruto,” he said.
