Videos circulating on social media show passengers inside a bus looking visibly agitated after what critics have mockingly dubbed an "Omo cleansing" a jab suggesting the crowd was left empty-handed.
The claims come amid Ruto's four-day development tour of Kericho and Bomet counties which kicked off around September 9 2026.
The President has been commissioning roads and housing projects while pushing residents hard to register as voters ahead of 2027. In Kericho alone he demanded one million votes from the county.
Accusations of paid crowds are nothing new in Kenyan politics. Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua had earlier claimed millions of shillings were spent mobilizing attendees for the South Rift tour. Still no independent confirmation of the specific unpaid cases from Kericho has emerged so far.
Former Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter wasted no time pouncing on the drama. Sharing a post about the alleged unpaid attendees on X he declared "Ruto's fate is sealed! Wantam Is Wantam!" complete with laughing emojis dripping with sarcasm.
Keter a fierce critic of the Kenya Kwanza government and face of the "Wantam" one-term movement used the moment to reinforce his long-running message.
He has consistently accused Ruto of taking Rift Valley voters for granted while citing economic hardship as proof of fading public goodwill.
The incident adds fresh fuel to Kenya's heated political rivalry as 2027 draws closer. Government allies continue touting development wins across the region while opposition figures pounce on every whiff of crowd manipulation.
State House has not issued any official comment on the unpaid claims leaving the matter to trend purely on social media for now.
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Politics