Who Is Running for Uasin Gishu Governor in 2027?

Jonathan Bii (Governor, Uasin Gishu) of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) is in his first term and is seeking a second on 10 August 2027. At least four people want to take the seat from him, and all four are chasing the same UDA ticket: Principal Secretary Julius Bitok, businessman Bundotich Buzeki, Competition Authority director general David Rotuk and Willy Kenei, the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman in the county, The Star reported on 17 August 2026. In President William Ruto's home county, the UDA primary is where this race is most likely to be decided.

The seat and the 2022 result

Uasin Gishu has six constituencies: Soy, Turbo, Moiben, Ainabkoi, Kapseret and Kesses. Eldoret, its main town, has since been made a city.

Buzeki ran as an independent in 2022 and still took more than a third of the vote against the party that dominates the county. On the same ballot Jackson Mandago (Senator, Uasin Gishu) won the Senate seat for UDA with 252,865 votes; that race is covered in who is running for Uasin Gishu senator.

Bii's position

Bii is not worried, or says he is not. "They should use their money wisely instead of engaging in an impossible mission to campaign against me. As of now, this county is locked until I complete my two terms in office," he told The Star. He has said his performance record would carry him.

The contest has turned personal at times. Tuko reported on 30 May 2026 that Bii had publicly faulted Bitok over a tragedy at Utumishi, and The Star wrote in June of leaders in the county campaigning against one another.

The challengers

Julius Bitok is the best known; The Star's August report described him as the Tourism PS. A Politrack Africa poll reported by Capital FM on 27 July 2026 put him first among UDA supporters at 39.5 per cent, ahead of Bii at 28.6 and Buzeki at 17.8. Capital FM did not report the sample size, fieldwork dates or margin of error, and a poll of one party's supporters is not a poll of the county. The questions to ask are in how to read an opinion poll.

Bundotich Buzeki is the 2022 runner-up and a businessman. The Politrack figures place him third among UDA supporters.

David Rotuk heads the Competition Authority of Kenya.

Willy Kenei launched his bid at his rural home in Soy ward. He is a board director at the Export Processing Zones Authority and chaired the ad hoc committee that steered Eldoret's elevation to city status. "I am in the race and with a clear vision and plan on how we can take our county to the next level of development," he said.

Bitok and Rotuk hold public office. Anyone in that position who wants to run has to resign by the deadline in February 2027, set out in the day public officers must quit.

Why the primary matters more than August

Uasin Gishu voted overwhelmingly for Ruto in 2022 (the county figures are in the 2022 results by county), and Susan Kihika (Governor, Nakuru) predicted in June 2026 that it would give him 98 per cent in 2027, People Daily reported. A county that solid tends to make the party ticket the real contest. UDA's structures and rules are explained in UDA explained.

That puts weight on how UDA runs its nominations. If the loser of a crowded primary walks, Buzeki's 2022 run shows an independent can still poll well here. The rules on who can run without a party, and when, are in running as an independent in 2027.

The county has also been in the NCIC's files. The commission summoned nominated MP Joseph Wainaina over remarks he made at Ngeria in Kapseret on 29 August 2026, The Star reported.

What to watch

UDA's nomination rules, due for the Registrar's certification by 30 October 2026, will show how the party plans to choose among five candidates. Then the February resignations: whether Bitok and Rotuk leave government to run. Primaries must be concluded by about 8 May 2027.