President William Ruto launches the Sihay-Bar Ober-Sega road in Ugenya Constituency, Siaya, on September 15, 2026./FAITH MATETE
President William Ruto has warned Kenyans against entrusting the country to political formations he described as lacking a clear vision, plan and agenda, saying the country cannot afford “trial and error” leadership.
Ruto, speaking in Ugenya during his tour of Nyanza, sought to position the broad-based coalition as the political vehicle capable of steering Kenya’s development, urging voters to back leaders with a record they can scrutinise and trust.
“Let us not gamble with our nation. Let us not subject our nation to trial and error experiments by people who have no vision, by people who have no plan, by people who have no agenda for our nation,” Ruto said.
The President said Kenya needed a political formation anchored on a clear programme and demonstrated ability to deliver, rather than one built around personalities, briefcase parties and what he termed makeshift political alliances.
“Kenya requires a political agency, a political plan, a political formation that has a track record that can be trusted by the people of Kenya,” he said.
He added: “This nation requires a political formation that has a plan and a vision for taking Kenya to the next level, and that political formation is the broad-based coalition.”
President William Ruto launches the Sihay-Bar Ober-Sega road in Ugenya Constituency, Siaya, on September 15, 2026./FAITH MATETE
He accused his political opponents of seeking to turn the country into an experiment despite lacking a coherent alternative programme.
“Those people want to gamble with our country. They want to play a game of chance with our nation. They are people who have no plan, no policy, no agenda,” Ruto said.
He went further, describing his opponents as a “gang” that could not be trusted with the responsibility of running the country.
“Our country, the nation we love called Kenya, is too important for us to leave it to a gang of people who are clueless, who have no plan and no agenda; a political formation built around personality cults, briefcase political parties and makeshift formations that have no agenda for our nation,” he said.
The President said his administration’s political message from Nyanza was one of national inclusion, promising to use the 2027 election to challenge ethnic politics and what he described as exclusion and marginalisation.
“We are saying from Nyanza that our nation is too important to be left to those kinds of people. That is why the broad-based government, the broad-based coalition, is the only coalition that has a track record, that has a plan and that has a vision,” Ruto said.
“And that is why next year, 2027, is a defining year. That is when we are going to vote as a people to get rid of ethnic politics, to get rid of exclusion and marginalisation, and to bring the entirety of the people of Kenya together.”
Ruto’s message was reinforced by senior ODM leaders, who publicly declared their support for the broad-based arrangement and warned against political alliances involving former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua.
ODM national chairperson Gladys Wanga said the party had made a decision to work with Ruto, arguing that the partnership was driven by the need to ensure development reached all parts of the country.
“We have made a decision as ODM to walk with you this journey. We have listened to others saying they left you not because you are bad, but because you were ensuring that development reaches every region across the country,” Wanga said.
She also took aim at politicians aligning themselves with Gachagua, saying ODM would not be part of such a political arrangement.
“Where there is Gachagua, anybody with him, we will not be part of any connections with Gachagua,” she said.
Junet Mohamed said some politicians had abandoned Ruto because they were unhappy with his decision to work with ODM and include members of the party in government.
He said ODM would remain committed to the broad-based arrangement and would not join a coalition involving Gachagua.
The remarks were echoed by MDG Party leader David Ochieng, who said Nyanza would not abandon Ruto because of the development projects being implemented in the region.
“We will not forget you. We will continue to walk with you. Nyanza, we are behind you. We will not let you down,” Ugenya MP Ochieng said.
He pointed to the projects being undertaken in the region, saying it would be difficult for him to turn his back on the President after witnessing the development being brought to the area.
“With the many projects you have brought here, I would be a foolish man to walk away from you and allow anyone else to get your votes in this constituency,” he said.
Ochieng also warned politicians seeking support in Nyanza through Gachagua or the opposition that they would struggle to win the region’s backing.
“Anybody who hides behind Gachagua or anybody in the opposition will not get a single vote in Nyanza,” he said.
The President was speaking after witnessing the commencement of works on the Sihay-Bar Ober-Sega road, a 65.2-kilometre project valued at Sh2.7 billion.
The road project formed part of Ruto’s broader development pitch in Nyanza, where he has sought to link infrastructure investment with his administration’s political message of inclusion.
The President has increasingly presented the broad-based government not merely as a governing arrangement but as the foundation of a wider political coalition ahead of the 2027 polls.
For Ruto, the challenge is to convince voters that the partnership can deliver continuity and development while overcoming the ethnic and regional political alignments that have traditionally shaped elections.
For ODM leaders backing the arrangement, the message has increasingly centred on development, political unity and opposition to any alliance involving Gachagua.
Treasury CS John Mbadi also backed the unity message, with the leaders maintaining that the Luo community would remain united beyond the 2027 election and into 2032.
The emerging alliance marks a significant shift in Nyanza politics, as Ruto seeks to turn his administration’s development record and partnership with ODM into political support in the region.
