OKANGO: Battle for Ol Kalou: A direct test of state popularity at the grassroots

In exactly 16 days, the people of Ol Kalou will go to the polls to choose their next member of Parliament. The seat fell vacant following the death of David Kiaraho, a legislator who served his constituents with dedication.

But this by-election is about far more than filling a vacancy. It is a verdict on the direction of the Mt Kenya region, and a test of whether the ruling broad-based government can sustain its remarkable electoral momentum ahead of 2027.

The government enters this contest with one thing the opposition cannot match: a record of delivery. Since the 2022 general election, the ruling coalition has won 22 of the 28 by-elections held across the country, including a clean sweep of all parliamentary seats in the November 2025 mini-polls. This is not luck. It is the fruit of governance that is increasingly resonating with voters at the grassroots.

Nowhere is this more evident than in Nyandarua county. The national government has pumped billions of shillings into the region. Roads account for about Sh22 billion of the total allocation, with Ol Kalou alone benefiting from about Sh10 billion worth of projects.

The Ol Kalou affordable housing project and a modern market have been launched. Nyandarua University, a long-awaited institution that was the only county in the Mt Kenya region without one, has been established on 91 acres for Sh1.3 billion. Ol Kalou Technical and Vocational College hostels have been commissioned.

Cargo and passenger trains have resumed operations on the Nairobi-Gilgil-Ol Kalou-Nyahururu railway line for the first time in nearly five decades. The county's first land registry has been opened in Ol Kalou, with title deeds issued to residents, turning dormant capital into active economic assets.

A Sh600 million sewerage system is under construction in Ol Kalou town, and a Sh25 million dispensary has been opened in Munyeki village. These are not campaign promises. They are visible, tangible deliverables that have transformed livelihoods.

UDA candidate Samuel Nyaga, who served as Kiaraho's assistant for 13 years, has pledged to build on this foundation. He has prioritised extending electricity to villages, rehabilitating roads and providing bursaries to support free education. His long tenure gives voters confidence that he will hit the ground running from day one.

The Democratic for the Citizens Party has attempted to galvanise support through slogans like "Ol Kalou is not Mbeere". But such rhetoric raises a fundamental question: where is the policy substance?

The opposition points to problems but offers no solutions. They criticise the roads but have no plan to build them. They complain about schools but have no strategy to fund them. This is the politics of complaint, not of contribution.

The contrast in campaign organisation could not be starker. Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has been quietly but effectively coordinating the UDA campaign, maintaining daily contact with campaign teams.

Meanwhile, Rigathi Gachagua, the DCP leader, has retreated to his Wamunyoro residence, leaving his candidate without visible top-tier support in the crucial final fortnight.

Why will the electorate vote UDA? The answer lies in the arithmetic of delivery. UDA is capitalising on Nyandarua's historical underdevelopment, neglect and abandonment by successive governments since independence.

The county has lacked basic amenities that neighbouring counties take for granted: universities, sewerage systems, land registries, modern markets. The Kenya Kwanza administration is addressing these decades-old grievances with unprecedented speed and scale.

Beyond Ol Kalou, this by-election carries national implications. It will confirm that the broad-based government's development agenda is winning hearts and minds across the country.

As the campaigns enter their final stretch, the people of Ol Kalou would do well to remember the government's development record.

The ruling coalition has earned the benefit of the doubt through its record. In 16 days, Ol Kalou has the opportunity to endorse that record and keep the momentum going.

That is not blind partisanship; it is informed, intelligent choice, grounded in evidence and common sense.