Malava constituency by-election in Kakamega promises to be a litmus test for President William Ruto and his rivals in the run up to the 2025 General Election. It is a platform for self-assessment and traction at the grassroots.

The stars are not promising.

To the electorate in Kakamega County and the broader western Kenya, the by-election is an opportunity to hand President Ruto a midterm report on his electability in the next General Election after failing to deliver on a host of promises he made in the 2022 presidential campaign.

Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale and former Senator Cleophas Malala are leading the charge of betrayal against Ruto who promised the region a bagful of development projects that include 1,000 kilometres of tarmacked roads, revival of moribund Webuye Paper Mill, expansion of Kakamega airstrip to an airport, turnaround of the sugarcane industry and completion of stalled 900-bed Kakamega Teaching and Referral Hospital, among other things.

In public service, the president is accused of crowding senior government positions with his Kalenjin tribesmen – cabinet, military and police, and state corporations, among others. The Kalenjin have a history of being serial failures in public service and for being rabidly corrupt, which President Ruto’s critics cite as the cause of rapid slide of the country’s economy.

It is against this backdrop that Malava by-election has acquired a bellwether status in Ruto’s quest for the second term – which sometimes looks out of reach – in the countdown to the 2027 election.

The desire to stamp out Ruto footprints in western Kenya – for a long time an opposition stronghold – is reflected in the scramble for the seat that fell vacant when area MP Moses Malulu Injendi passed on in April this year. The by-election is one of several that are billed as a preamble of 2024 and first test for the newly installed Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) team.

IEBC has raised concerns over the delay in holding 23 pending by-elections in the country. The commission says the delay is due to the expiry of parliamentary writs required to initiate the process. The pending by-elections include one senate seat, six national assembly seats and 16 member of county assembly positions.

“In the case of the by-elections to the National Assembly and Senate, the speakers of the respective Houses are expected to issue writs declaring the positions vacant. We note that the writs have since expired,” said the IEBC in a recent public statement.

The Malava seat fell vacant after the death of Malulu Injendi, who died after an illness, Banisa seat fell vacant following the death of Kullow Hassan Aden in March 2023 in a hit‑and‑run road accident in Nairobi. Magarini, which was declared vacant after the Supreme Court nullified the election of Harrison Kombe and that of Kasipul of Charles Were who was assassinated on May 1, 2025. Ugunja and Mbeere North, occasioned by the appointment of Opiyo Wandayi and Geoffrey Ruku, respectively, to the cabinet, are also among them.

President Ruto often derides the Luhyia community as “wajinga wa hapa chini” (fools from western Kenya) during private meetings with his Kalanjin kitchen cabinet. It is a mantra he has weaponised to champion the Kalenjin ‘superiority’ over communities in western Kenya – despite their incompetence for lack skills and professionalism, and profile as habitual thieves and liars – that has historically worked against the Luhyia.

In the run-up to 2022 presidential poll, Ruto swore to use the Luhyia to ascend to power, which he succeeded by roping into his campaign National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi – then influential leaders from the Luhyia community.

The two seem to have overstayed their welcome and have since been pushed to the peripheries of Ruto administration. The laggardly duo seems to have regained some relevance – albeit transient – as they were recently deployed to Malava where the president’s right-hand man Farouk Kibet has been involved in a whirlwind campaign to ensure the seat remains in the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) column.

Kibet has proved to be divisive by arrogating himself the role of a know-it-all through the push to install determine who wins the vacant parliamentary seat. While the president’ man is hailed by mainly women groups for whom he has been dishing out massive bribes disguised as “empowerment programmes” in Malava. To many, the so-called empowerment programmes are perceived by voters as tomfoolery as concerns rise over the push by the state to impose leaders on them. Since independence in 1963, Malava – previously known as Lurambi North – has never voted for a government in power, which makes Kibet’s frays into the sub-county both intriguing and interesting.

Voters, mainly drawn from UDA, in statement last week warned party members opposed to Kibet’s pork-barrel campaign risked being ostracised for opposing “empowerment prorammes”. Led by Simon Kangwana, one of the 30 or so leaders that have declared interest in the sat encouraged Farouk Kibet to continue supporting boda (motorcycle taxi) transport service providers, the youth, women groups, people living with disabilities and schools.

“When the government announced during the funeral of former MP Malulu Injendi that it would complete the development projects he had initiated, we clapped and cheered. But now that it has continued to support our people, some leaders who have no vision and plan for our constituency are criticising the government for developing our area, yet they bringing nothing on the table to also show that they care. Let us open our eyes and support the government to bring the needed changes in our constituency and those oppressed by its move then let them tell it to stop so that they can take over , but if it is only politics they are spewing then we tell Farouk and team to continue with their earnest endeavors,” Kangwana says.

Other than speaking in generalities, he did not specify the development projects the government has initiated or completing. Kangwana faces voter ridicule for being forced to dance in May in public by Farouk. The incident, which took place in June is viewed as part of a wider scheme to embarrass the Luhyia as dogs that are at the beck-and-call of their master.

While addressing the media to counter recent political spats between aspirants and politicians opposed to the Kenya Kwanza administration the team was told to also initiate their own development programmes for the constituency to compete with President Ruto’s point man’s.

Kangwana observed, “I know we are in a political mood and if you feel that the government is using the empowerment drives to campaign for their Malava seat aspirant, then why can’t the opposition also do the same?”

Kangwana will be battling it out with five other candidates for the UDA nomination ticket to face off with DAP Kenya and DCP. He cautioned voters against trusting leaders who are known serial party-hoppers describing them as driven by greed, not the interest to serve the electorate.

Kangwana came under blistering criticism from prominent lawyer Edgar Busiega Mwanga, who described him as a marionette after he was forced to dance in public by Farouk Kibet.

Mwanga observed, “A marionette has no mind of its own. I am not like my opponents who have been bought. They cannot do anything without getting instructions and orders from strangers in Malava. People that have been bought by Farouk are agents of poverty. They are grabbing all the money that should have by used to educate our young people. Farouk has questionable academic papers. How can such a man help us building schools yet he did not go through the difficult life in the classroom to understand the demands and rigours of education? Only people who sat for exams can. Malava already problems in education. How can an academic cheat like Farouk help us?”

Mwanga was responding to Kangwana, who had defended Farouk thus: “Some of the aspirants who are throwing salvos at our presidential aid bid to empower our people have no clear agenda besides insulting the government of the day and skipping from one political party to the other and this clearly shows that they have panicked and sensed defeat from the government side.”

Kangwana said he is waiting for the IEBC declaration on the by election date and hit the ground and urged the residents to elect a leader who has an agenda for the Malava people and avoid clannism and tribal politics as being peddled by the opposition.

“Farouk has been a true friend of the Malava people as he has brought a bus to Lugusi (Chemuche ward) secondary school, empowered widows at Samitsi (Shirugu Mugai ward) to see them be able to uplift their livelihoods and educate their children, he later proceeded to Kimang’eti (East Kabras) where together with the President raised funds for various churches, later we went to Chevoso in (South Kabras) to fundraise for youths and women groups from within and later in Matsakha where Ksh.9Million was raised for the Bodaboda riders , recently he has been in Luanda K (East Kabras) where the retirees, women and youths groups were uplifted, and this is the kind of leaders we want” he paused.

• A Tell Media  report / By Isaiah Wakhungu Andanje