Ruto's men on the spot over missing road allocations

President William Ruto addressing during the State Funeral Service for Former Prime Minister Raila Amollo Odinga at the Nyayo National Stadium on October 17, 2025. Raila passed on in India while on a treatment [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

Sympathisers of the Broad-based Government in Kisii and Nyamira are on the spot after the region missed out on major development projects rolled out by the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KERRA).

In the current Financial year, Nyamira County, for example, has missed out on allocations for road development projects. Residents believe the turn of events paints a gloomy picture of the leader's support for Ruto.

Nyamira Woman MP Jerusha Momanyi, MPs Joash Nyamoko (North Mugirango), and Stephen Mogaka (West Mugirango) have notably been at the forefront for the longest time now, since Ruto’s taking over the reins of power, declaring their unwavering support for his re-election.

In Kisii County, all the elected legislators except Senator Richard Onyonka and MPs Obadiah Barongo (Bomachoge Borabu), Innocent Obiri (Bobasi), and Anthony Kibagendi of Kitutu Chache South are the only ones out of the 15 legislators not supporting the President’s re-election bid. Instead, they have thrown their weight behind Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiangi who has expressed intentions to vie for the presidency.

The pro-Ruto team, which includes Kisii Governor Simba Arati, has been moving across Kisii and Nyamira counties, popularising Ruto’s two-term mantra, saying they were supporting his re-election campaigns since he was the one with the keys that could unlock development in Gusii.

“Mr Ruto is our president, and he is the one who dishes development to Kenyans. He is like a lactating cow which we cannot wish away at the expense of our heifer(Matiang’i), which has not shown signs of giving us milk any time soon. Let us support the president so that he can give us development projects,” Arati has been quoted as saying on several public occasions.

At one time, he was quoted as saying: “Let us milk this cow (Ruto) before the next elections. Even if it will mean that we milk it dry even to the last drop of blood, so be it.”

Similar sentiments have been symbolic in every public rally the pro-Ruto team has been engaged in.

All 10 politicians supporting Ruto’s re-election are now in a tight corner to explain to locals why the development projects they have talked about that the President was giving to the people have been either delayed or denied.

Over the last six months of the 2025/26 National Financial Budget cycle, Nyamira received no single road project when other regions like Homabay, Uasin Gishu, Siaya, Kisumu, Kericho, Migori, and other counties received up to more than 30 projects each, spread across about six procurement cycles.

South Mugirango Constituency, where National Assembly Majority Chief Whip Sylvanus Osoro hails from, has also enjoyed numerous project allocations over the cycles, unlike all other areas that have yet to be given consideration.

Responding to the situation, Jerusha Momanyi says the opposition politics playing out in Gusii are to blame for the slowed development.

“Most of the development works we are witnessing that are not well aligned to our Gusii Region were done during the times when Dr Fred Matiang’i swept the region with the opposition wave. We are yet to be considered well because of that, but we are still prevailing on the Head of State to consider giving us more allocations,” Jerusha says.

“We are yet to be taken seriously as a Community because of the bad politics we are staging. Any community that has prospered has always aligned itself with the reigning Government. That is not the case with Gusii,” Nyamoko says.

Steve Mogaka says the Government was intending well for the Gusii people and that all that was needed was goodwill for the support to prevail.

“We cannot count development based on road projects only. The Government is doing so much in terms of electricity connectivity, the ongoing National Affordable Housing Project, which we launched a few months ago,” Mogaka says.

Onyonka, on his part, says the skewed development allocations that have exempted some regions were wrong for the Nation.

“The people pay tax indiscriminately and equally, Government services should be given to them indiscriminately regardless of their political alignments,” Onyonka says.