Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has launched an early offensive against the Opposition, warning its leaders that they will face a tough political battle as the country heads towards the 2027 General Election.
Prof Kindiki said President William Ruto’s administration would confront its critics with what he described as a record of tangible achievements, accusing the Opposition of relying on insults, political rhetoric and what he termed falsehoods to win public support.
The Deputy President said he and President Ruto were ready to return to the electorate and seek a second term on the strength of their development record rather than entitlement.
“President Ruto and I are fully prepared to face wananchi and ask them to vote for us again for a second term. We are ready. We will not come with arrogance demanding your vote as if it is our right,” Prof Kindiki said.
He added: “We will face our opponents eye to eye, face to face, and expose them in broad daylight.”
Prof Kindiki spoke on Saturday at Kinoru Stadium in Meru town, where he addressed more than 40,000 grassroots leaders, opinion shapers, village elders and Community Health Promoters drawn from Meru, Tharaka Nithi, Embu, Kirinyaga, Kitui and Isiolo counties.
The gathering, attended by elected leaders, former councillors, MCAs and thousands of residents, provided the DP with a platform to rally support for the Kenya Kwanza administration and begin laying the groundwork for the 2027 campaign.
Prof Kindiki said the Government would spend the coming months explaining to Kenyans what it has accomplished since taking office in 2022, arguing that its record would offer a clear contrast with its political opponents.
He accused Opposition leaders of spending the past four years criticising the administration without offering an alternative programme for the country.
“Our opponents have been all over lying to Kenyans because they have been idle and had nothing to do. We have been busy working—employing teachers, reforming agriculture, improving roads and strengthening healthcare,” he said.
The DP cited agricultural reforms, education, healthcare and infrastructure as some of the areas where he said the Government had made significant progress.
He said the reduction of fertiliser prices, cheaper seeds and subsidised agricultural inputs had helped lower production costs for farmers.
He also cited the reduction in the price of sexed semen, saying it had fallen from Sh8,000 to Sh1,000 per dose.
According to Prof Kindiki, improved agricultural interventions had contributed to better returns for farmers, with coffee prices rising from about Sh40 per kilogramme in 2022 to more than Sh120, while milk prices had increased from Sh33 to Sh50 per litre.
The DP also pointed to the recruitment of 100,000 teachers as part of efforts to address staffing shortages in schools.
He said the education sector had also undergone reforms in technical and vocational education, including expanded recruitment, Recognition of Prior Learning, dual training and modular programmes.
University education, he added, had similarly been subjected to reforms aimed at making it more responsive to the country’s needs.
“Kenya must change. We have spent four years laying the foundation for a better country. We are coming back to the people for a second term so that we can build on that foundation and continue the transformation towards first-world status within a single generation,” he said.
In healthcare, Prof Kindiki said the Government’s Universal Health Coverage programme, Taifa Care, had attracted more than 32.3 million registrations.
He also highlighted the recruitment of more than 107,000 Community Health Promoters and additional doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers.
The Government, he said, was determined to continue expanding access to healthcare while improving facilities and medical services across the country.
On infrastructure, the DP said stalled road projects had been revived, while more than 600 modern markets were at various stages of construction.
He also cited the construction and rehabilitation of 32 stadia, including the Talanta Stadium in Nairobi, as part of the Government’s infrastructure agenda.
Prof Kindiki said the administration’s development record would form the centrepiece of its campaign for re-election.
“We will come to the voters and request them to vote for us because of the development record we will present to them,” he said.
He said Kenya could attain developed-country status within the next three decades if the country maintained the reform agenda and implemented long-term policies consistently.
“We must ensure this country develops like other developed countries in Europe, China and America. It is possible for Kenya to attain first-world economic status in the next 30 years,” he said.
The Kinoru meeting also endorsed an earlier declaration by Mt Kenya East elders at Nembure Grounds, where the elders backed President Ruto’s re-election in 2027 and Prof Kindiki as his running mate.
The gathering further declared Prof Kindiki the political leader of the Mt Kenya region and called on elders from Mt Kenya East to engage their counterparts in Mt Kenya West in an effort to forge regional unity.
Prof Kindiki welcomed the initiative, saying the region should not be divided by political differences.
Leaders attending the meeting pledged to support the Ruto-Kindiki ticket, arguing that the administration had demonstrated its commitment to development.
Meru Senator Kathuri Murungi said the region would not be intimidated into abandoning leaders it had chosen to support.
“We will support this Government in 2027 and Prof Kindiki in 2032 because we have seen what they have done for us,” Senator Murungi said.
Water Cabinet Secretary Eric Murithi also pledged his support for the President and Deputy President in 2027 and beyond.
Embu Governor Cecily Mbarire, Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki and Meru Governor Isaac Mutuma joined the chorus of support for the Ruto-Kindiki ticket.
Governor Mbarire said Mt Kenya East had supported leaders from Mt Kenya West for years and argued that it was now time for the region to rally behind Prof Kindiki.
“We have supported leaders from Mt Kenya West for many years. We never insulted them. This time around, we must support Prof Kindiki,” she said.
Governor Mutuma said the region was capable of producing national leaders and appealed to Mt Kenya West to reciprocate its support.
“We are not children of a lesser father. We can also lead and we ask our brothers and sisters to support us,” he said.
Governor Njuki said the region should remain united behind the President in 2027 and continue supporting Prof Kindiki in the subsequent presidential contest.
With the 2027 election campaign still months away, Prof Kindiki’s address marked an increasingly combative phase in the political contest, with the Deputy President positioning the administration’s development record as its principal weapon against an Opposition that he accused of lacking a coherent alternative agenda.
