Ruto-Kalonzo feud rages over control of Ukambani vote

The war of words between President William Ruto and Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka which erupted a week ago, is now intensifying as the two traded another round of hard hitting salvos.

Analysts say the President’s focus on Kalonzo, while largely ignoring other opposition principals, signals that the Wiper leader is seen as a big threat to his re-election bid. 

On Thursday evening, the president continued his onslaught, accusing Kalonzo of neglecting the plight of his community despite being in government for over 40 years, and questioning his ability to lead the country. 

According to President Ruto, Kalonzo lacks the moral authority to vie for the presidency, citing his failure to deliver a road to his Tseikuru home in Kitui.

“So now I am the one building roads to your home, yet you have been in leadership for 50 years. I asked him, how do you expect to lead the country if you don’t have the sense to build your own road? How will you build national highways?” Ruto asked while handing over houses in Mukuru Kwa Njenga.

In response, Kalonzo’s Wiper Party, through Secretary General Shakila Abdalla, accused Ruto of revealing a leader so politically cornered and consumed by megalomania that he now claims credit for projects he allegedly sabotaged.

Abdalla said Ruto’s remarks exposed a politician who, while presiding over what she described as Kenya’s most catastrophic three years since independence, now takes credit for initiatives he personally hindered.

“Why the sudden panic? Why the latest onslaught on social media? Because the real opinion polls, not the manufactured surveys commissioned by State House, but the genuine pulse of the people on the ground, are speaking loud and clear,” said Abdalla.

The party also described Ruto’s rhetoric as an attempt to demean their leader over infrastructure development.

In a hard-hitting statement, Abdalla accused Ruto and Jubilee Party of manipulating a road project initiated by Kalonzo, who had reportedly visited China to secure funding from EXIM Bank for the Kibwezi-Mutomo-Kitui-Bondoni road.

“Ruto now parades through Lower Eastern claiming credit for the Kibwezi-Mutomo-Kitui-Bondoni road. This is not just dishonest, it is outright theft of Kalonzo’s project. The evidence is damning,” she said.

Abdalla outlined the project’s history, noting that on March 29, 2011, then-Vice President Kalonzo launched the US$500 million road after sealing the deal with China’s EXIM Bank.

Almost a year later, in May 2012, Kalonzo personally travelled to Beijing to secure funding and reportedly displayed the contracts publicly.

But according to Wiper, a “deliberate sabotage” began in September 2013, when elements within the Jubilee administration, which Ruto belonged to, wrote to EXIM Bank of China, calling the road “not economically viable” in an attempt to halt the project.

This week, Ruto dismissed Kalonzo’s claims that he was the brain behind the road, insisting that he and President Uhuru Kenyatta launched and constructed it.

Wiper, however, maintains that in 2016, the people of Lower Eastern were forced to take to the streets demanding the tarmacking of their road—already launched and funded—only to be met with teargas by the government Ruto served.

“On December 2016, the project was shockingly re-launched in Mutomo for cameras and votes. In January 2017, when Kalonzo visited the site, all machinery had vanished. It was a scam, a con, pure political theatre,” the statement said.

Now, in 2025, Abdalla claims Ruto has the audacity to parade around Lower Eastern, claiming he is “bringing development” to the region.

There are fears within Ruto’s camp that Kalonzo could make inroads into the Mt Kenya region, which overwhelmingly supported him in the 2022 presidential race.

This gives Kalonzo a strong start, especially as he also enjoys huge backing at the Coast and in Western Kenya from figures such as Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya, DAP-K Party leader Eugene Wamalwa, DCP Deputy Party Leader Cleophas Malala, and Kakamega Senator Bonny Khalwale.

As a result, Ruto appears determined not to sit idle against one of his harshest critics. Political analysts suggest the President is taking the battle to Kalonzo’s doorstep to gauge his strengths and weaknesses.

The exchanges began last Sunday in Kiambu when Ruto launched a scathing attack on the opposition leader. He dismissed Kalonzo as someone who has held senior leadership positions for the past 40 years yet has done little to improve the lives of the people he represented in Parliament, questioning what he could achieve as President.

“There are some people who dismiss what I have promised to do to make Kenya a developed country, yet they have no plan for citizens. How can we wait for someone who has never developed the road leading to his own home, even after being in power for four decades?” Ruto asked.

This week,  Kalonzo joined his DCP counterpart Gachagua, DAP-K’s Wamalwa and former Attorney General Justin Muturi of the Democratic Party to deliver a stinging critique of Ruto’s administration on the eve of Jamhuri Day.

They challenged several of the President’s promises, calling them false and raised concerns over how proceeds from the sale of public assets would be used.

Kalonzo argued that Ruto’s push for “alternative financing mechanisms” contravenes the Constitution, which deliberately anchors public finance in transparency, parliamentary oversight and fair distribution of burdens across generations.

“We have heard President Ruto claiming that the cost of living is falling, yet every Kenyan mother, every boda rider, every young hustler knows this is a blatant lie. The truth is reflected in the rising prices of cooking flour, fuel, transport and rent,” Kalonzo said.

On Friday, Wiper also accused Ruto of systematically capturing nearly every institution in the country, with the Judiciary remaining the last bulwark against his total domination.

Analysts say the exchange of words between the two leaders signals that Ruto has finally identified his main political rival, after largely ignoring his former deputy, Gachagua, who has been a vocal critic since his impeachment last year.

Political analyst Bosco Mutegi argued that the President’s focus on Kalonzo is a strategic move aimed at weakening his hold in Ukambani.

“Ruto keeps targeting Kalonzo because, within the opposition, Kalonzo has a likable character and a solid constituency that he now wants to dismantle. He appears to have sidelined Gachagua after defeating him in the Mbeere North by-election,” Mutegi said.

He added that Ruto’s outbursts come amid the formation of a political party by former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko, which analysts believe may seek a foothold in the Ukambani region.

“He [Sonko] has a political party and has started operations in Ukambani. You should not be surprised if Sonko eventually works with Ruto, if they are not already cooperating,” Mutegi said.

He added, “While Kalonzo is a career diplomat with a likable character, he must find ways to keep his troops together. The presence of his supporters at Ruto’s meetings shows that Ukambani leaders recognize they can only access development through Ruto’s administration.”

Political analyst James Khaminwa noted that Ruto’s decision to target Kalonzo came after realizing that the Wiper leader is a softer politician, less accustomed to confrontational politics. The move, he said, was meant to provoke Kalonzo and unsettle his supporters.

“It’s a strategy that appears to be working. Ruto wants to provoke Kalonzo so he falls into a trap. Kalonzo should ignore the outbursts and focus on his opposition politics. Ruto wants him to think he can operate without his principals, this is what he did with Gachagua, which contributed to friction within the Opposition,” he said.