Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) acting chairman Cleophas Malala has accused President William Ruto of betraying the people of Kakamega and the larger Western region for failing to deliver some of the key promises he made while campaigning in the 2022 general election.
Speaking to the residents on Thursday, July 3, 2025, as part of an opposition tour of Kakamega Town, Malala said Ruto’s failed promises were the pillars of his campaign in the region.
“I am the one who brought William Ruto to Kakamega; we agreed that he would give a 1000-kilometre road in the western region,” Malala told the citizens.
“We also agreed that he will revive the Nzoia and Mumias sugar factories. We also agreed he will give employment to the teachers and the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).”
The former Secretary General of the former United Democratic Alliance (UDA) accused the President of willful deception.
“He is a liar,” Malala stated. “I am here to announce that I have left him. I am with DCP.”
Accompanied by Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya, Wiper Party boss Kalonzo Musyoka, DCP leader Rigathi Gachagua, and dozens of other opposition leaders, Cleophas Malala declared that Western Kenya leaders had come together with one agenda to press for development within the region.
Malala’s claim came after Rigathi Gachagua revealed a dramatic encounter he had with President William Ruto regarding the purported deliberate neglect of Western Kenya.
Speaking during the opposition tour on Thursday, July 3, 2025, Gachagua said that he had confronted the president over the stalled development projects in infrastructure and the contentious privatisation of public properties in the region.
“So I asked Ruto about this Western Kenya issue… about the 100-kilometre stretch of road,” Gachagua said. “You have already sold Nzoia Sugar; you have sold everything, so what do you intend to do with the Luhya community?”
According to Gachagua, the president brushed off his concerns, claiming development in Western Kenya was no longer necessary as long as Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula were content.
“He responded by saying, ‘If Musalia and Wetang’ula are full, then the Luhya are full.’ But are you truly full? No.,” Gachagua declared. “Ruto should go now.”
