'Uliingia na hustler, utatoka na one term": Sifuna taunts Ruto in Meru

The tour, hosted by former Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza, marked the caravan's first sustained push into the Mt Kenya region after outings in Trans Nzoia, Bungoma, Kakamega, Busia and Homa Bay.

Mwangaza, who formally aligned herself with the movement earlier this year, told the crowd that Sifuna's campaign is funded by ordinary supporters rather than by wealth of his own, framing the movement as a bottom-up operation.

The sharpest exchanges centred on the new police uniform unveiled by Ruto at the National Police College in Kiganjo on Friday, a rollout that has drawn scrutiny over the identity of the supplier and the value of the contract.

Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale told the rally he had been informed by a River Road tailor that the uniform could be produced for about Ksh.14,000 rather than the figure of KSh39,000 he cited, and alleged that the difference amounted to KSh1.6 billion lost to the public.

He did not name the tailor or produce documentation to support the figures.

Embakasi East MP Babu Owino put the cost of the uniform programme at KSh2.5 billion and questioned the priority, arguing the money would have been better spent raising police pay.

He also accused the administration of recruiting young people as hired disruptors instead of creating formal employment, and warned that any attempt to disrupt the Meru rally would be met head-on.

Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi went further, alleging that the President had steered the uniform supply contract towards his own child. The claim goes beyond what has so far been established publicly and has not been substantiated.

In the most striking remark of the afternoon, Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka told the crowd he had been given money to vote for Mwangaza's impeachment but had taken it and voted against her removal.

Mwangaza was removed from office by the Senate in August 2024 after a third impeachment attempt. Onyonka went on to describe Sifuna as the movement's number nine, a reference to the senator's standing within the outfit.

Political commentator Pauline Njoroge told the gathering that efforts to fracture the Mt Kenya vote would fail, insisting the region was united behind a single candidate and behind the One Term slogan the opposition has adopted against Ruto.

Kabuchai MP Majimbo Kalasinga challenged the President over the fallout with Mwangaza, questioning what had been sought from her and refused before her impeachment.

Osotsi turned on Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, warning him that his seat was under threat. He also put the succession question directly to the crowd, asking who they wanted as president in 2027.

Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya trained his fire on the electoral commission, accusing the IEBC of running enhanced voter registration in the Rift Valley while other regions received only regular registration, and demanding uniform treatment countrywide.

He dismissed the government's development pitch, saying the opposition's priority was fighting corruption.

Babu Owino used his slot to restate his declaration of support for Sifuna's presidential bid, telling those he accused of trying to split the movement to take their business elsewhere.

The declaration follows days of speculation about a rift between the two, which Babu publicly dismissed on Wednesday.

Sifuna closed by responding to Ruto's characterisation of him, saying the President had dismissed the movement and called him slow.

He said he would not be intimidated and would answer insult with insult.

The senator said Kenyans wanted to live freely rather than face live fire, and dismissed the government's manifesto as untruthful. He ended on the administration's shifting slogans, saying Ruto had entered office on the Hustler platform and would leave on One Term.

Neither State House nor the National Police Service had responded to the allegations raised at the rally by the time of publication.

The uniform tender has been under pressure since Friday, with DAP-Kenya leader Eugene Wamalwa demanding disclosure of the supplier and the award process, and reporting linking the registered address of the contracted firm to businesses associated with the President's family.