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After Ruto jibes, road to Kalonzo’s home gets tarmac nod
Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka addressing the media on August 25, 2021 after the DCI exonerated him from any wrongdoing over a piece of land in Yatta.
An all-weather road leading to Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka’s rural home, which has long been at the centre of a public spat between him and President William Ruto, is now set to be tarmacked.
The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) has invited contractors to bid for the Kandwia–Kyuso road and the tarmacking of the Kyuso–Tseikuru road in Kitui County.
In a notice, KeNHA said contractors are required to attend a mandatory pre-tender site visit at Kandwia Township in Kitui County on January 15, 2026, ahead of the tender opening scheduled for February 5 at the authority’s headquarters in Nairobi.
“The authority hereby invites bids from eligible contractors for the following tenders to be funded through the Development Vote,” reads part of the notice signed by KeNHA’s deputy director in charge of supply chain management.
The development comes amid heightened political tension between President Ruto and Mr Musyoka over the state of the road. The President and his allies have repeatedly cited the untarmacked road to Mr Musyoka’s home as a basis to question his development record, especially after the former vice president declared his intention to run for president in 2027.
They argue that Mr Musyoka lacks the capacity to deliver development nationally, given that the road leading to his home remained untarmacked despite his long tenure in senior government positions.
“Kenyans should reject leaders who have no development track record. Charity begins at home. Let us not sugarcoat it. If they cannot do it in their villages and regions, they cannot do it for Kenyans,” Mwala MP Vincent Musyoka said at a recent political rally in Nairobi.
President William Ruto chats with former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka at a past event.
Last week, President Ruto revisited the issue, questioning why the former vice president would want to lead the country, yet his development record was questionable.
“You have not built a road to your home in 40 years. How many more years do you need to build roads for other Kenyans? Would it not take 1,000 years?” President Ruto posed while launching infrastructure projects in Turkana County. The remarks came after Mr Musyoka questioned the President’s development agenda.
“You cannot expect someone who was unable to tarmac the road leading to his home to tarmac the road leading to your home. They lack a plan and an agenda,” the Head of State said on another occasion, three days earlier.
During a recent tour of the Ukambani region, President Ruto pledged to include the “dusty” road leading to Mr Musyoka’s home in his plan to improve the country’s road network.
Mr Musyoka, however, has strongly pushed back against the political attacks.
In various forums and during a recent interview on NTV, he said he had initiated the tarmacking of the Kibwezi–Kitui road—which extends to his rural home—while serving as vice president in the Mwai Kibaki administration.
He has defended his development record, citing more than 40 years of public service.
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