Ol Kalou By-Election: Official Result and Disputed Campaign Spending Claims
The Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election ended with a decisive result and disputed claims about campaign spending. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s Gazette notice records Sammy Douglas Kamau Waweru of the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) as elected on July 16, 2026, with 35,440 votes. United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate Samuel Muchina Nyaga received 5,450 votes.
What the KSh100 million figure refers to
After the vote, Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku told Hot 96 that UDA’s campaign spending and items distributed in the constituency were worth about KSh100 million. He said the money came from the party, not the National Treasury. This was Ruku’s estimate; the report did not present audited campaign accounts or independent verification of the figure.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua had alleged that much larger sums were spent on cash and government projects in Nyandarua. Those allegations and Ruku’s response are competing political claims. The coverage cited here does not establish that public projects were campaign spending or that any spending changed the result.
What the result shows—and what it cannot show
Waweru’s margin over Nyaga was 29,990 votes. The official declaration settles who won the constituency seat. A single by-election does not, by itself, measure national support or predict the 2027 general election. Claims about vote buying or misuse of public resources require evidence and, where raised formally, investigation by the responsible authorities.
