President William Ruto used a tour of Kericho and Bomet counties this week to make an extended defence of his administration’s record, telling residents that his government’s development agenda would not leave any region behind regardless of political history.
Speaking in Kokwet, Kipkelion West, the President said discrimination in the distribution of public resources breeds resentment and undermines national cohesion. “Every part of the Republic of Kenya will be on board, we are going to leave no area left behind,” he told the gathering, framing equitable development as central to his government’s remaining years in office.
The President pointed to ongoing investment in the two counties as evidence of that commitment, citing road construction projects in Kericho valued at roughly Sh22 billion alongside investments in electricity connections, healthcare facilities, education infrastructure and support for the tea and dairy sectors that anchor the local economy. He also referenced the government’s affordable housing programme and improvements to sports facilities as part of a broader push to spread visible development beyond traditional political strongholds.
The tour comes against a backdrop of sharpening political contestation ahead of the 2027 general election, with opposition figures increasingly questioning the pace and fairness of development spending under his administration. The President used an earlier leg of the tour, in Bomet, to reject suggestions that his government had failed to honour its 2022 campaign pledges, insisting that key promises had been met despite what he described as economic headwinds inherited from the previous administration.
The visit was not without a stumble for the President’s camp. A local legislator’s remarks appeared to endorse a single-term presidency for Ruto, a comment that briefly overshadowed the development messaging and was quickly seized on by critics as a sign of unease within the ruling coalition’s own ranks over 2027 succession politics.
Political analysts say the Rift Valley tour underscores how central the region’s vote will be to Ruto’s re-election calculus, with both government and opposition expected to intensify campaign-style visits to the area in the coming months as the political temperature rises ahead of the next General Election.