Ol Kalou By-Election: DCP's Sammy Waweru Crushes UDA With 81% Landslide

In what political analysts are calling the most decisive by-election result in recent Kenyan history, DCP's Sammy Douglas Kamau Waweru won the Ol Kalou parliamentary seat with 35,440 votes — an 81% share — against UDA's Samuel Muchina Nyagah who managed just 5,490 votes (13%). The 29,950-vote margin sent shockwaves through the political establishment.

Final Results

What the Numbers Mean

The Ol Kalou by-election was widely seen as a referendum on President Ruto's government in the Mt. Kenya region. The constituency, located in Nyandarua County, is deep in the Mt. Kenya heartland — a region that delivered over 90% of its vote to William Ruto in 2022.

Four years later, UDA couldn't even manage 15% of the vote. The swing is historic:

• DCP won all five wards — Karau, Kanjuiri Range, Mirangine, Kaimbaga, and Rurii — with commanding margins in every single one.
• UDA's 13.3% represents a collapse of the ruling party's support base in a constituency it should have won comfortably based on 2022 patterns.
• Jubilee (198 votes) and other parties were essentially irrelevant, making this a straight DCP vs UDA contest that DCP won decisively.

Key Takeaways

1. Mt. Kenya is no longer UDA territory. If UDA can lose by 68 percentage points in Nyandarua, the 2027 presidential arithmetic fundamentally changes.
2. DCP is a real force. This was DCP's first parliamentary seat, won in commanding fashion. Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua's new political vehicle has proven it can convert grassroots anger into votes.
3. Turnout tells a story. At 57%, turnout was moderate — suggesting that many UDA-leaning voters simply stayed home rather than switching allegiance.

All election data sourced from official IEBC Form 35A and Form 35B results published on the IEBC Forms Portal. This analysis is based on the official declaration by the Constituency Returning Officer on 17 July 2026.