On Saturday, November 29, local newspapers reported in detail about the post-by-election assessment showing that the candidates who supported the broad coalition government won the majority of seats, thereby strengthening their position heading into the 2027 General Election.
Source: UGC
1. Saturday Nation
According to the release, the Deputy President Kithur Kindiki he entered the Mbeere North by-election on November 17, 2025, and found his party’s influence shaken.
The UDA was reeling from weeks of pressure from influential figures: Rigathi Gachagua of DCP, DP leader Justin Muturi, and Lenny Kivuti of DEP, who united to prevent the ruling party from taking the seat.
The Muturi Kivuti partnership was stronger due to their great influence in the area.
To save the campaign, Kindiki joined the UDA team led by former Member of Parliament Geoffrey Ruku, Governor Cecily Mbarire and Senator Alexander Mundigi.
He quickly changed strategy, focusing on local issues and many meetings with community leaders.
Between November 17 and 26, he held more than 50 strategic meetings and 17 public meetings, a move that UDA insiders believe changed the direction.
In his first meeting in Siakago, Kindiki aimed to weaken Gachagua’s political image, promising to “humble” him and show that he is not the leader of Mount Kenya.
“I will teach Gachagua manners and show him that he is not, and will not be, the king of Mount Kenya. I will kill him and prove that I am the King of the Mount,” Kindiki said.
He mentioned the UDA candidate, Leonard Wamuthende, as a choice that highlights development in the area, a message that touched the people who were faced with bad roads, water shortages and lack of electricity.
When the votes were counted, Wamuthende won by a narrow margin: 15,802 votes against DP candidate Newton Kariuki Karish’s 15,308. Duncan Mbui of the Labor Party got 2,480 votes.
With a total of 33,947 voters turning out, the constituency had one of the highest turnouts in Kenya’s by-election history.
The victory not only gave the UDA a seat, but it was also a blow to Gachagua who is showing himself as the political leader of Mount Kenya.
Kindiki’s influence and his strong involvement allowed him to claim the position at least for now.
2. The Saturday Standard
The newspaper reports that a Kenyan man who traveled to Russia a month ago to look for work has been confirmed dead in fighting between Russia and Ukraine, raising new fears about a vast human trafficking network targeting needy job seekers.
Martin Macharia Mburu, a resident of Ruaka, Kiambu, left Nairobi on October 21 after being promised a job as a driver.
Instead, Kyiv sources claim he was forced to join the Russian forces, given basic weapons training for only three days and sent to the front line in Donetsk Lyman, where he was killed on Thursday morning.
His journey is in line with a seemingly growing trend where Kenyans are misled with false promises of jobs in construction, transport or hotels, only to find themselves in military camps.
His death has occurred while parliament continues to investigate allegations that Kenyans are being forced to join the Russian army.
The Member of Parliament for Kirinyaga Central, Joseph Gitari, recently asked the Defense and Foreign Affairs committees to investigate the matter of Macharia and another Kenyan, Peter Kimemia, who also traveled to Russia to find a job as a driver.
Macharia was killed before the committee could issue its report.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stay Mudavadihas said that Kenya is collaborating with Moscow to determine how many Kenyans may be in the camp and facilitate their return.
3. Nation Today
The Kiswahili newspaper reports that the government is now under pressure due to the continued rise in the price of maize, a situation that threatens its efforts to keep the price of flour affordable.
Agricultural experts say the country is heading towards a maize shortage despite expectations of a bumper harvest.
Fierce competition between flour millers, animal feed manufacturers, and the Grain Board (NCPB) has raised the price from KSh 2,800 to KSh 3,250 for a 90 kg bag.
NCPB giving KSh 3,500 per sack in an effort to collect two million sacks for the National Food Reserve, is directly competing with millers.
In one month, the board has bought more than 100,000 bags of 50 kg, but the demand continues to increase.
The price increase comes when the government expected the harvest to increase from 67 million sacks in 2024 to 70 million this year.
Millers warn that if the market is left to “correct itself”, the price of two kilos of flour may exceed KSh 150 if there are no emergency measures.
The government, however, insists that flour prices will remain stable.
President William Ruto he has said that a two-kilogram packet is now being sold for KSh 130, down from KSh 250 in 2022, blaming the drop on large production resulting from fertilizer subsidies.
More than 21 million sacks of subsidized fertilizer have been provided so far, reducing production costs by more than KSh 105 billion.
4. Weekend Star
The newspaper reports that President William Ruto has inaugurated the road worth KSh 170 billion, Rironi-Mau Summit dual carriageway, calling it an important step for a nation that was stuck due to stalled projects.
He said the project marks the end of what he called years of “silent paralysis,” where projects were delayed by budget challenges and unsafe roads.
The road widened through public private partnership (PPP) will include wide roads, flyovers, lights, pedestrian bridges and modern transport systems to reduce congestion on the western highway.
Ruto said this road is more than a transport project; it is the foundation of a modern economy that connects Kenya with neighboring countries and strengthens regional businesses.
He emphasized that PPPs will help avoid excessive borrowing while using private capital to complete projects quickly.
Ruto explained that the new road will be opened on June 1, 2027, and will reduce accidents, save billions lost due to cargo delays and help Naivasha ICD.
He also expanded his plan, confirming plans to expand more roads in the country, including the highway from Muthaiga to Kiambu and Machakos Junction to Mariakani.
The government has also received funding to conduct a study to extend the road to Malaba and Kisumu.
Ruto attributed the investment to the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
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