With just 10 months to the General Election, President William Ruto has embarked on a fresh mission to consolidate his Rift Valley backyard, with eyes set on more than seven million voters in the region’s 14 counties, up from the 5.4 million in 2022.
This comes against the backdrop of loud murmurs in the President’s backyard that he abandoned the region for four years, only to rush back in the run-up to the 2027 election to seek the backing of voters.
For President Ruto, loyalists and strategists planning his campaign, the fear in the Rift Valley is not that the region will drift to the opposition, but that disillusionment will lead to apathy – a powder keg in a re-election campaign where every vote counts.
Amid growing discontent and a significant loss of support in Mt Kenya, which voted for him almost to a man in 2022, President Ruto has moved to mobilise his base to secure a solid foundation ahead of August 2027.
Dr Ruto is also seeking to consolidate and ride on former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s traditional support bases in Nyanza, Western, the Coast and Nairobi. Odinga, who founded and led the Orange Democratic Movement, died late last year.
The strategy is aimed at providing a balance to the loss of support in regions seen to have abandoned the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), particularly Nairobi, the Coast and Western Kenya.
President William Ruto with a small-scale trader at Kapkatet market in Bureti Constituency, Kericho County.
Photo credit: PCS
Some MPs told the Sunday Nation that more than 1.8 million people in the Rift Valley have not registered as voters, the majority lacking national identity cards.
“The presidency is won through votes. We are capable of registering more than seven million voters. Please, get identification documents and register as voters,” President Ruto said in Moiben, Uasin Gishu County, days ago.
He has twice in a year – in Bomet and Narok counties – pleaded with the residents of Rift Valley to obtain identity cards, register as voters and rally behind his re-election bid.
“I cannot go round the country seeking votes yet people in my backyard have not registered as voters. Do not let me down. Don’t make me plead with you,” he said in Narok on September 9.
During his tour of the North Rift, President Ruto said more than one million residents in the area have not acquired identity cards.
Head of Public Service, Felix Koskei, added fuel to the battle for numbers, saying at Nandi Bears Club that the General Election would be fought on all fronts.
“Do not take the General Election lightly as it will be a fight of titans and a do-or-die contest. The President should not appear exposed. We must do everything within our means to get the requisite numbers and secure a second term,” Mr Koskei said.
According to Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot, UDA would lock the opposition out of the Rift Valley by mobilising residents to rally behind the President.
President William Ruto addresses members of the public during the launch of the last mile connectivity project at Kiminini Trading Centre in Trans Nzoia County on October 14, 2026.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group
“In the spirit of charity beginning at home, we are working around the clock to ensure all eligible voters in the Rift Valley are registered with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission so that they exercise their democratic right to pick leaders of their choice next year,” the senator said in Bomet County.
Mr Cheruiyot, who is Kericho Senator, is the most prominent figure in the President’s campaigns in the Rift Valley, owing to his position in the Senate and the fact that he is in Dr Ruto’s inner political circle.
“This is a game of numbers and we are confident that Rift Valley residents are behind the President. Even with the opposition pretending to have a footing here, the truth is that we will paint the region yellow,” said Dr Michael Bongei, a strategic management expert who is eyeing the Bomet governor seat, referring to the ruling party colour.
In 2022, the Rift Valley had 5.34 million registered voters, according to electoral agency.
President Ruto garnered 2.6 million votes. Odinga, who was the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition presidential flagbearer, got 1.1 million votes, mainly from Narok, Kajiado and Turkana counties.
Narok and Kajiado alone had 862,057 registered voters. Baringo, Bomet, Elgeyo Marakwet, Kericho, Nandi, West Pokot and Uasin Gishu counties gave Dr Ruto 1,602,807 votes.
The region has registered 671,958 additional voters, with national identity cards being issued to those who do not have them.
In the recent voter registration conducted by the IEBC, Rift Valley recorded the highest number of new voters, followed by Mt Kenya with 399,220.
The IEBC registered 2,612,725 new voters during an enhanced continuous registration that began on September 29, 2025.
President Ruto’s current tour of the Rift Valley will take 10 days, the longest he has stayed in the region.
President William Ruto in Kitale town in Saboti Constituency, Trans Nzoia County.
Photo credit: PCS
His visits to the Rift Valley have featured launching the construction of roads, hospitals, electricity, markets and housing, which have become his signature campaign projects.
Dr Ruto also pitched tent in Bomet, Kericho, Narok, Samburu and Kajiado counties, urging residents to vote for him.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has made inroads with his Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) in Nakuru and Narok.
Nakuru Senator Tabitha Karanja “Keroche” and Naivasha MP Jayne Kihara recently ditched the ruling party and joined DCP.
“DCP is the party to watch in the Rift Valley. It has given UDA leaders sleepless nights and forced the President to go flat out campaigning. The victory of the Narok Town ward seat by DCP and the more than 10,000 votes I got in the Emurua Dikirr by-election has unsettled those in government,” Mr Vincent Rotich, the DCP leader in Emurua Dikirr constituency, Narok County, told the Sunday Nation.
“When Mr Gachagua returns from the United States, campaigns in Rift Valley will begin. Residents are anxiously waiting for him to provide direction. UDA leaders should not assume that the region, especially the South Rift, is their bedrock.”
Prof Tom Nyamache, a lecturer at Turkana University, says President Ruto’s appeal for a million people to obtain identity cards and register as voters is more than a civic message.
“It is early mobilisation in a presidential contest already taking shape. The battle is moving from political rhetoric to organisation and mobilisation of votes. President Ruto is, therefore, keen to consolidate his backyard and begin the race with a significant advantage,” Prof Nyamache said.
“Rather than leave the political interpretation to his allies, President Ruto’s immediate task it appears, is to protect the electoral foundation that propelled him to State House”.
In Baringo, where he faces opposition from Kanu chairman and former area senator Gideon Moi, Dr Ruto has chosen to speak directly to locals while announcing projects.
Mr Joseph Sang, a Kanu official, says the Ruto-Moi falling out has complicated matters for the ruling party in the Rift Valley.
“The recent public attacks by the President against Mr Moi who has chosen not to answer, have exposed the soft underbelly of UDA. It has also projected the President as ungrateful and applying the use-and-dump tactics,” Mr Sang said.
Although President Ruto has in the past had a firm grip on the Rift Valley, the Maa-speaking counties and Turkana overwhelmingly voted for Odinga.
The President has sought to consolidate support in Narok, Kajiado, Samburu and Turkana counties, where Odinga had an almost fanatical following, with more than 1.2 million votes.
Samburu had 100,014 registered voters in 2022. The number in Narok, Samburu and Kajiado is expected to rise to about 1.5 million by the time of the election.
Dr Ruto handed over the management of Amboseli National Park to the Kajiado County government, earning praise from Governors Patrick Ntutu (Narok), Joseph ole Lenku (Kajiado) and Lati Lelelit of Samburu.
He has also handed over the title deed of the South West Mau forest (Maasai Mau) to the devolved government of Narok in what is seen in many quarters as a political move disguised as conservation effort.
Some leaders in Narok and Kajiado now say the Maa Nation is solidly behind the President and will vote for him.
For political analyst XN Iraki, Odinga’s strongholds in the Rift Valley are up for grabs by President Ruto and the opposition.
“Without a clear kingpin after the demise of William ole Ntimama and Odinga, the President and the opposition have their eyes set on the low hanging fruit – the Maa votes – as they make forays into Maasai land,” Prof Iraki said.
The death of Ntimama on September 1, 2016 after several decades as the Maasai spokesperson, appears to have left a huge gap that is yet to be filled.
Among the leaders in who have joined the DCP camp are Kajiado Senator Samuel Seki and Kajiado North MP Onesmus Ngogoyo.
