President William Ruto and Embu governor Cecil Mbarire during Sunday service at the Full Gospel Church in Gatunduri, Embu County/PCS
President William Ruto has declared that no individual delivered the Mt Kenya vote to him during the 2022 General Election, insisting that he personally campaigned across the region and directly sought the support of its residents.
Speaking during a Sunday service at the Full Gospel Church in Gatunduri, Embu County, the President appeared to dismiss claims that other political leaders were responsible for his overwhelming support in the vote-rich region.
Although he did not mention former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua by name, Ruto's remarks came amid repeated assertions by his former deputy that he played a central role in mobilising Mt Kenya voters behind the Kenya Kwanza presidential campaign.
"I came here and asked you to vote for me, and you did. Do you remember? You saw me looking for votes here, in your churches, and I asked you to pray for me, and you gave me your votes," Ruto told the congregation.
The President said it was misleading for some leaders to claim they single-handedly persuaded the people of Mt Kenya to support his presidential bid.
"But I hear some people arrogantly saying that they are the ones who asked you to vote for me," he said.
"They are implying that I did not come to ask for votes in Embu and that they are the ones who looked for votes for me."
Ruto maintained that the people of Embu voted for him because they had personally agreed on a shared development agenda during his campaigns across the region.
"You voted for me, Embu people, because I asked you to
do that and we agreed that we will work together," he said.
He urged political leaders to avoid what he termed arrogance and instead focus on serving wananchi.
"Some people should stop being arrogant. I came here, talked to people, and we agreed on what we needed to do," the President added.
Ruto said his administration would continue implementing the promises it made to the people during the campaigns and expressed confidence that residents would judge his government based on its performance.
"Come next year, we will come to take stock of what we have achieved. We will have a test," he said.
The President highlighted several achievements of his administration, saying the cost of agricultural inputs had reduced significantly while reforms in the coffee sector had improved farmers' earnings.
"We talked about agriculture, you know, the price of fertiliser now, it has reduced. We talked about improving coffee prices, which we have done," he said.
Ruto also pointed to increased investment in the education sector, noting that his administration had recruited 100,000 teachers within four years.
"We have made tremendous strides in education. I have employed 100,000 teachers in four years," he said.
He added that the education budget had grown from Sh500 billion in 2022 to Sh734 billion in the current financial year, describing the increase as evidence of the government's commitment to improving learning outcomes across the country.
The President's remarks come against the backdrop of continued claims by Gachagua that he was instrumental in delivering the Mt Kenya vote that propelled Ruto to the State House.
The former Deputy President has repeatedly argued that he traversed the region extensively during the 2022 campaigns, mobilising support for the Kenya Kwanza alliance and persuading voters to back Ruto's presidential bid.
