Ruto Offers Development Olive Branch to Kalonzo Musyoka

President William Ruto extended a direct political olive branch to Wiper Patriotic Front leader Kalonzo Musyoka on Monday, combining state-funded infrastructure projects in Ukambani with a warning that the opposition intends to subject the former Vice-President to another humiliating vetting process.

Speaking at a rally in Tseikuru Township, Kitui County, the Head of State argued that Kalonzo has no guarantee of securing the opposition’s presidential ticket for the 2027 General Election. He urged the Wiper chief to abandon his current allies and join the ruling administration instead.

"They took him through an interview in 2022. You saw him being asked about his personal details and his achievements. That was humiliation," President Ruto said, referring to the vetting panel organised by the opposition ahead of the last general election. "The same people who organised the interview in 2022 are planning another one soon. Instead of Kalonzo going for another interview, he should join me."

The President's overtures coincided with high-level realignments within the opposition ranks. Kalonzo led a delegation of his key lieutenants to the Wamunyoro residence of Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua in Nyeri County. The meeting forms part of ongoing consultations regarding the opposition’s leadership structure and the choice of a flag bearer to challenge the Kenya Kwanza administration.

During his development tour across Kitui and Makueni counties, President Ruto repeatedly referenced his historical ties with the Wiper leader to frame an alliance as a logical step.

"Deliver my greetings to Kalonzo and remind him that when I was a member of YK92 in 1992, I came to Tseikuru to campaign for Kalonzo’s re-election," President Ruto said while launching an affordable housing project in Kabati Township, Kitui County. "He should return the favour by supporting my re-election bid."

To reinforce his charm offensive, the President addressed a long-standing local point of political friction: the state of the road network in Kalonzo's rural backyard. While launching the Kandwia-Kyuso-Tseikuru Road, a dusty stretch previously used by ruling party politicians to criticize the former Vice-President’s record, President Ruto ordered the contractor upgrading the 55-kilometre route to extend the bitumen standard directly to Kalonzo's doorstep, three kilometres from Tseikuru Township.

The President portrayed the region as historically marginalized under past governments and positioned his administration's targeted investments as the solution.

Alongside the road directives, President Ruto launched several regional infrastructure projects, including student hostels costing Sh145 million at the Tseikuru National Polytechnic to house 340 students, with a commitment to construct additional blocks for the institution's 1,600 students. In Makueni County, he announced electrification projects and the construction of the Wote-Kako-Ngoluni and Machinery-Kyumani-Kyanginywa-Mbelia roads.

Allies of the President aligned their messaging with the executive strategy, toning down past rhetoric against the Wiper leader. Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse publicly urged the Head of State to leave the door open for negotiations during the commissioning of the Sh250 million Kathekani Secondary School, funded by the Kenya Railways Corporation.

"In case Kalonzo comes knocking, open the door for him. He has been humiliated by the opposition," Mr Mutuse told the President.

The four-day executive tour of Kitui, Machakos, and Makueni counties is scheduled to conclude on Tuesday with the launch of a Sh70 billion cement and clinker plant at Ngaie in Kitui County. Owned by Devki Group founder Narendra Raval, the facility is projected to create 4,000 direct jobs and boost local commercial activity across the county.