Speaking at Kinoru Stadium in Meru, he said UDA had built a formidable grassroots network that would be central to Ruto’s re-election campaign.
The DP challenged opposition politicians to move beyond nicknames and slogans and tell Kenyans what they would do differently if elected.
“Most leaders are looking for votes, yet they do not have a manifesto, an agenda or a vision. They have nothing meaningful to tell the people,” Kindiki said in the meeting with over 20,000 UDA grassroots leaders.
He dismissed the opposition’s 'one-term' campaign against Ruto, describing it as an attempt to distract voters from substantive national issues.
“Their work is simply ‘Kasongo’ and ‘Soprano’, saying that someone should serve only one term and then leave. That is not an agenda; it is foolishness,” he said.
The DP spoke as UDA conducted a polling-centre officials’ event in Meru, bringing together party officials and elected leaders from the wider eastern region.
Kindiki said the polling-centre officials were the party’s most important political machinery because they were directly responsible for mobilising voters and defending UDA at the grassroots.
“You are the bosses of the party at the polling centre, where the vote is cast,” he told the officials.
He claimed UDA was the only major political party to have conducted elections at the grassroots to establish officials at polling-centre level.
The officials, he said, would also act as government representatives in their respective areas and explain the administration’s record to voters.
Kindiki used the occasion to mount an extensive defence of the Ruto administration, listing reductions in the cost of farm inputs, increased milk prices, road projects, education reforms, health coverage and youth employment.
He said the government had reduced the price of a 50kg bag of subsidised fertiliser from Sh7,500 in 2022 to Sh3,500, and had now cut it further by Sh500.
The government, he added, had reduced the cost of sexed semen from Sh8,000 to Sh1,400 per dose and certified maize seed from Sh300 to Sh150 per kilogramme.
The DP also highlighted the government’s efforts to improve incomes for dairy farmers, saying milk prices had risen from Sh33 per litre in 2022 to Sh50.
He said Meru Dairy had increased its price to farmers from Sh50 to Sh52 per litre.
The government would also inject another Sh200 million into the dairy cooperative this year to expand milk production and processing, the DP said.
Kindiki said the administration was ready to face Kenyans in the 2027 election and defend its record.
“President Ruto and I are ready to face the people of Kenya eye to eye, face to face, and explain what this government has done in the last five years,” he said.
“We are not afraid. We are willing to engage the people of Kenya face to face, directly, eyeball to eyeball.”
He said voters would ultimately judge leaders based on what they had delivered.
“Citizens will ask themselves: What am I electing? Why am I electing? And who am I electing? Those are the questions the people of Kenya will ask,” he said.
The event brought together a large contingent of UDA leaders, including party chairperson Cecily Mbarire, Meru Governor Isaac Mutuma, Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki, Isiolo Governor Abdi Guyo, Meru Senator Kathuri Murungi and Buuri MP Rindikiri Mugambi.
Mugambi urged the newly elected officials to focus on selling the party’s achievements rather than engaging in political noise.
“Our work is to be ambassadors of UDA in the grassroots, not noise. You have a lot of development projects to point out,” he said.
Former Isiolo Governor Godana Doyo, who is seeking the Isiolo Senate seat, said the region would support UDA, arguing that Kindiki’s rise represented an opportunity for the neighbouring communities.
“For the first time, we are hopeful that our neighbour will clinch the presidency in 2032,” Doyo said.
Senator Murungi said the UDA officials would be the “foot soldiers” in the party’s 2027 campaign.
“We have no room for the green and blue armies here. Let them know that Merus are not fools. We cannot leave a government we took part in forming for another one we don’t even know,” Murungi said.
Mbarire, meanwhile, expressed confidence in Ruto’s support in the region, saying the grassroots network could deliver a decisive victory if properly mobilised.
“If each of the 20,000 here can look for just 30 people, will we not win?” she asked.
Mbarire also linked UDA’s political ambitions to what she described as decades of support given to previous presidents by the region.
“For 60 years since independence, we have been supporting presidents, from Jomo Kenyatta, to Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta. It is now their turn to return the favour we have given them for 37 years by supporting our son Kindiki,” she said.
Njuki was more explicit about the succession politics, describing Kindiki’s position as Deputy President as a potential launchpad to State House.
“We are in the house of UDA. Number two in that team is none other than Kithure Kindiki. It is a blessing to get to DP because it is a step away from presidency,” Njuki said.
The remarks pointed to the open discussion within Mt Kenya over Kindiki’s political future, even as Ruto’s administration focuses on securing a second term in 2027.
Kindiki, however, insisted his immediate task was to defend the government’s record and mobilise the UDA base.
He warned rival politicians who previously held senior government positions against criticising the administration without accounting for their own records.
“Those we are competing with, when they come here before they talk about soprano, Kasongo and one term, ask them because they were bosses previously - Deputy President and with over 50 years in leadership—what did you do?” he said.
“If they continue, I will expose them because they are people who failed and cannot account for their time in office.”
With the 2027 contest already taking shape, Kindiki’s message in Meru was clear that UDA intends to take its campaign beyond national rallies.
The DP also sought to highlight gains in education, saying the government was on course to recruit 120,000 teachers by the end of this month, surpassing its initial target of 116,000.
He said 23,000 classrooms and 1,600 laboratories had been constructed across the country.
Technical and vocational education, he added, had also recorded a sharp rise in enrolment, from 297,000 students in 2022 to 718,000 currently.
On healthcare, Kindiki said 32.3 million Kenyans had registered under SHA, holding it cannot be compared with NHIF's eight million.
In Meru, he said, the government had allocated Sh1 billion to upgrade Meru Level 5 Hospital to a level 6 facility, with the first phase expected to be completed before December.
Kindiki also announced Sh44 billion had been earmarked for more than 500 kilometres of additional tarmac roads in Meru.
He said the government had paid Sh177 billion in pending bills owed to road contractors, covering about 6,000 kilometres of roads.
The DP said the administration was also constructing 600 modern markets nationally and had an ongoing Sh2.3 billion electricity connectivity programme in Meru targeting 27,000 households.
He said the government had connected 1.4 million households nationally and was creating opportunities for young people through the Nyota programme, overseas employment and digital jobs.
INSTANT ANALYSIS
Kindiki’s mobilisation of more than 20,000 UDA grassroots leaders signals that Ruto’s re-election strategy is increasingly anchored on building a disciplined electoral army from the polling-centre level. By positioning officials as footsoldiers responsible for voter mobilisation, defending the party and selling government achievements, UDA is seeking to convert grassroots organisation into votes while giving its 2027 campaign deeper nationwide reach.
