President William Ruto’s highly anticipated development tour of Ukambani has been dramatically postponed, with sources revealing a tense political standoff between State House and Wiper-affiliated county leadership. The decision to reschedule comes amid behind-the-scenes wrangles over stalled mega projects and political control in the region—unmasking a deeper tug-of-war between UDA strategists and the Wiper governors of Machakos, Kitui, and Makueni.
According to impeccable sources who spoke exclusively to Channel 15 News, Ruto’s plan to begin the tour this week was met with fierce pushback from Wiper governors Wavinya Ndeti (Machakos), Julius Malombe (Kitui), and Mutula Kilonzo Jr (Makueni), who reportedly declined to participate in preparations unless long-stalled Jubilee-era projects were given priority.
At the heart of their demands are the revival and inspection of flagship infrastructure initiatives such as the Thwake Dam, the Yatta Canal, and the Kitui-Kibwezi-Migwani Highway, whose construction has stalled at Kwa-Siku. The governors, all elected under Kalonzo Musyoka’s Wiper Party, are said to have insisted that launching new UDA-branded projects without addressing these legacy developments would amount to political tokenism.
Despite this pressure, President Ruto instead convened a closed-door meeting at State House with top UDA coordinators from Lower Eastern—shutting out the Wiper county bosses. Some of the notable faces in attendance were Mwala MP and UDA coordinator Eng. Vincent Musyoka Kawaya, Kitui East MP Nimrod Mbai, Kitui South MP Rachel Kaki, Labour CS Dr. Alfred Mutua, PS for East African Community Terry Mbaika, and Livestock PS Jonathan Mueke.
The leaders agreed that political temperatures in the region were too high to begin the tour and resolved to call a broader leaders’ forum first. This wider consultative meeting is now scheduled for Wednesday, May 21st, 2025, at State House, Nairobi.
Labour CS Alfred Mutua posted on his official platform:
“Following a highly successful consultative meeting with H.E. President Dr. William Ruto and senior government leaders from Ukambani, it was agreed that a broader engagement with Ukambani leaders should be held at State House before the planned development tour of the region. As such, the tour has been rescheduled, and new dates will be communicated after the wider leaders’ meeting. The meeting with the broader leadership will take place on Wednesday, May 21st, 2025, at State House, Nairobi. Mbele iko sawa.”
Mwala MP Eng. Vincent Musyoka echoed:
“Following a very successful consultation meeting with H.E. the President with Ukambani senior Government leaders, it was decided that it is important that H.E. the President first hosts a larger Ukambani leaders function at Statehouse before the development tour of Ukambani. Therefore, the new dates of the tour will be communicated after the wider leaders meeting. The meeting with the leaders will be held next week on Wednesday, May 21st, 2025 at Statehouse, Nairobi.”
However, President Ruto’s own official statement steered away from announcing the postponement directly. Instead, he framed the engagement as part of routine consultation:
“We are aligning our development agenda with the priorities of the people through continuous consultation with leaders and stakeholders. Our objective is to deliver inclusive growth from the bottom going up. Held a consultative meeting with leaders from Machakos, Makueni and Kitui counties at State House, Nairobi. We discussed critical infrastructure projects, including roads, water, education, affordable housing, and markets that are essential to the region’s transformation.”
Yet insiders familiar with the meeting told Channel 15 News that lobbying by UDA MPs to steer the narrative and select new priority projects appears to have had the President’s ear—leaving out Wiper-aligned governors in critical decision-making.
“The UDA team wanted projects that would give them political mileage ahead of 2027. The governors weren’t going to be used as props without the revival of legacy projects,” a senior government official told Channel 15 News under condition of anonymity.
This isn’t the first abrupt cancellation related to the region. The postponement comes in the wake of Madaraka Day celebrations, initially scheduled for Kitui, being quietly moved to Homabay County. The government cited logistical issues, but political observers pointed to a lack of unity and preparedness among Lower Eastern leaders.
With both the Wiper and UDA camps scrambling for political control ahead of 2027, the rescheduled State House meeting on May 21 now looms as a critical turning point—not just for Ukambani’s development agenda, but for its future political alignment.
