Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Aden Duale has expressed strong confidence that President William Ruto will secure a decisive victory in the 2027 General Election, projecting a win margin of 2-3 million votes.
Speaking during an interview with a local TV station on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, Duale dismissed the current opposition as weak and fragmented, arguing that President Ruto faces no serious challenger at the moment.
“William Ruto will win in 2027 by two million to three million votes. The rest are jokers; the serious competitor is not around,” Duale said.
The CS pointed to the changing political landscape following the decline of veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga, noting that his political stature and constituency had long been a major pillar of national politics.
“Raila Odinga’s political constituency and stature were like a pillar. That pillar has crashed, and to rebuild it will take time,” Duale stated.
According to Duale, no current opposition leader commands a solid, radicalised, and loyal political base capable of mounting a serious challenge to the president.
He further claimed that opposition leaders lack the ability to mobilise large crowds.
“All these other oppositions cannot even fill Uhuru Park. Tell them to fill it, and I will pay. It is only William Ruto who can fill Uhuru Park.”
IEBC
This comes a few hours after the opposition leaders told the IEBCto suspend any further engagements with the technology firm Smartmatic, saying they will not accept the firm’s participation in the 2027 General Election.
The leaders, who held a lengthy meeting with IEBC chairperson Erastus Ethekon and other commissioners, also raised a range of concerns, including security issues observed during the recently concluded by-elections.
The United Opposition stormed the IEBC offices on Wednesday afternoon, which was billed as a courtesy call. However, inside the commission’s boardroom, temperatures ran high as the opposition leaders demanded assurance of a free and fair election next year.
“We have demanded for free and fair elections,” said Martha Karua.
However, the elephant in the room is the Venezuelan-based firm Smartmatic that has previously provided IEBC with election technology, including biometric voter registration, identification through KIEMS kits and results transmission.
The opposition urged the IEBC to suspend further engagement with the firm, whose contract was renewed just before the new commissioners took office.
“This same technology was used in Uganda, and KIEMS kits failed; we do not want that in Kenya,” said Eugene Wamalwa.
“We have raised serious concerns about Smartmatic,” said Kalonzo Musyoka.
