Ruto crafts new campaign squad to break regional kingpins power

When President William Ruto inspected the 257 km Lamu-Ijara-Garissa road (LAPSSET corridor on February 07, 2025. [PCS]

President William Ruto has set the ball rolling to dismantle the longstanding regional kingpins and dominant parties as he crafts a new campaign structure to alter the country’s political landscape.

It is a strategy his allies believe will be used to turn areas where he  did not command overwhelming support in the past into neutral grounds as he steps up his charm offensive to bolster the support for his administration and re-election bid in 2027.

In a multi-faceted plan that is likely to have political casualties as much as new beneficiaries, the man who rose to power through a well-calculated and assembled campaign machine in the build-up to the 2022 General Election is back at it again.

Observers believe the latest tactic the president has adopted, which entails propping up new faces in his campaign strategy and crushing opponents by all means, could be a massive game-changer in his re-election bid.

Coincidentally, as Ruto goes all out in a no-holds-barred approach, his attack dogs have gone silent. Instead, he is now unleashing some of so called advisers from State House to muddy the waters in regional politics. Others have been replaced by the fresh praise singers drawn from the ODM party, which is part of the broad-based government.

From Nyanza, to Western, to Mount Kenya and the Coast, the script is similar as political temperatures heighten ahead of next year’s General Election, through the emergence of political leaders seeking to galvanize support for Ruto. In the process, new parties are popping up, with the president’s unseen hand, albeit with his loud influence openly playing out through heightened political activities.

But as this plan trudges on, there are fears that this path spells doom for multiparty democracy because of the creation of decoy parties that are only meant to fulfill and implement the president’s bidding.

His violent and bloody crackdown on Gen Z’s protests in 2024 that punctured his popularity was also a big test for a man seeking absolute power and control of the country’s entire political architecture.

In Western, after facing a series of setbacks in his bid to inherit the region from the late ODM leader Raila Odinga, who commanded support in Kakamega, Vihiga, Busia and parts of Bungoma, the president is pursuing new allies.

Similarly, insiders told The Standard that UDA operatives are also in the process of wooing back former foot soldiers who helped the party build grassroots political infrastructure but decamped. Among those who are in the lineup are a former elected leader who broke ranks with the president and joined forces with Ruto’s former Deputy President, Rigathi Gachagua, but is perceived to be a potent mobilizer.

Loyal structures

In the region, Bungoma Governor Ken Lusaka has been appointed as President Ruto’s Western region campaign coordinator. He is working alongside Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya as part of a new outlook to help bolster Ruto’s numbers and challenge Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya’s Tawe Movement.

The appointment is part of a wider strategy aimed at building fresh political machinery that operates independently of traditional power brokers who have historically dictated voting patterns in the region.

Similar changes have been extended to the county level. In Vihiga, the President is said to have sanctioned an arrangement that places former Luanda MP Christopher Omulele—currently serving as the Vihiga County Assembly Speaker—at the helm of Ruto’s re-election campaign in the county.

Political observers say the emerging team signals the President’s determination to establish loyal structures that function outside the influence of entrenched regional kingpins. 

Notably, the precise role of Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, both long-time Ruto allies in Western Kenya, remains unclear under the new matrix. The duo have faced hostilities in the region in recent days.

The appointments are politically delicate. Lusaka hails from Bungoma County, the same home county as Speaker Wetang’ula, while Omulele comes from Vihiga, widely regarded as Mudavadi’s political backyard.

The overlap has raised questions about whether the new structures are designed to complement or quietly eclipse the traditional power centres.

Supporters of the new arrangement insist the move is meant to strengthen, not undermine, the President’s support base. 

Sirisia Member of Parliament John Waluke has publicly praised President Ruto for appointing Lusaka, describing the decision as timely and strategic ahead of the 2027 General Election. “The President has entrusted a tested, two-term governor with the responsibility of ensuring that Western Kenya stands solidly behind him,” said Waluke, who dismissed claims that the move was meant to weaken regional kingpins.

Waluke believes the reorganisation is intended to consolidate forces against a potential united opposition rather than fuel internal rivalry.

“We now have a very strong team capable of ensuring President Ruto becomes a two-term president who will continue delivering his agenda to the Kenyan people,” he said.

Under the new structure, Kakamega Deputy Governor Ayub Savula will serve as Lusaka’s deputy, Teso South MP Mary Emaase takes up the role of secretary, while Vihiga Woman Rep Beatrice Adagala will be the treasurer. 

However, political analysts caution that the strategy may be more calculated and risky than it appears. 

Lawyer and political analyst Moses Ombayo argues that President Ruto is keenly aware that influential figures in regions such as Western, Nyanza, the Coast and Central Kenya often use their “kingpin” status as leverage during high-stakes political negotiations.

“To avoid being held hostage, the President is clearly trying to build his own strong structures so that, in case of an impasse in power negotiations, he can still secure sizable votes in those regions,” Ombayo said.

He added that, unlike Western Kenya, regions such as Nyanza and the Coast currently lack a clearly defined kingpin, giving Ruto room to directly court voters and lay a credible claim to their support in 2027.

Ombayo further suggested that the President may have reassessed the actual influence of some long-standing allies.“Ruto is a master chess player, and through political intelligence, he may have realised that the likes of Wetang’ula and Mudavadi no longer wield the influence they once did, hence the need for a new team led by Lusaka,” he said.

Abandoned cause 

In Nyanza, the spectacular collapse of the ODM party has become an open secret after its Central Committee endorsed the leadership to start negotiations with Ruto’s UDA.

Observers say the move has effectively turned ODM into a weak player, negotiating from a position of weakness.

“By a few individuals deciding the party’s fate and claiming we back Ruto, ODM has abandoned its cause. This was a deal driven by self-interest,” said an ODM MP.

But that is only part of the story. Several fringe parties aligned to the president have emerged in the region, advocating multiparty politics after years of ODM dominance. Observers believe these parties are part of a strategy to undermine ODM’s influence and give the president options if the UDA-ODM deal falters.

The entry of Eliud Owalo, Ruto’s immediate former Deputy Chief of Staff, into the presidential race is widely seen as a decoy, fully backed by UDA operatives. “The president knows that a direct UDA-ODM clash in Nyanza could spark hostility, which is why the focus has shifted to other parties,” said a UDA operative.

Governance expert Francis Ominde cautions that sidelining traditional power brokers could backfire. “This is risky ground. The strategy could anger kingpins such as Mudavadi, Wetang’ula and at the Coast, Mining CS Hassan Joho. Alienated heavyweights could quietly weaken the president’s re-election machinery,” he noted.

In Mount Kenya, a team led by Deputy Kithure Kindiki, CS Geoffrey Ruku and allies such as Moses Kuria is countering former deputy Gachagua, stressing unity and backing for Ruto’s second term.

At the Coast, the president is leaning on Joho and Amason Kingi (Pamoja Africa Alliance) to strengthen support and pressure ODM factions. This partly explains why Raila’s 81st birthday celebrations, dubbed Coast Salute, were dominated by calls for Joho to seek the deputy presidency in 2027.

Speakers said selecting him would galvanize national support for a potential 2032 presidential bid. Joho, who declared his ambition while Raila was alive, went quiet after ODM’s 2022 election loss but says, “Politics is about partnerships. It is all about arithmetic.”