Mt Kenya's third 'centre of power' emerges

With the 2027 General Election approaching, the fight for control of the significant Mt Kenya voting bloc is intensifying. A third centre of power associated with President William Ruto has emerged.

After Rigathi Gachagua was impeached in October 2024, he launched a vigorous campaign against his former boss, whom he accused of betrayal. Using his political outfit – Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) Mr Gachagua has made forays into Mt Kenya region counties, nearly locking out the United Democratic Alliance (UDA).

Mr Gachagua’s victory in the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election, in which the DCP candidate Kamau Ngotho beat the UDA candidate Muchina Nyaga by over 30,000 votes, has emboldened the former deputy president (DP), who claims it was a protest vote against Dr Ruto.

He contends that the region has severed its links with Dr Ruto, whom they overwhelmingly supported in 2022, and is determined to use the substantial voter base to ensure that Dr Ruto serves only one term as president with his Wantam movement.

In July, Mr Gachagua announced a 45-day retreat at his home in Wamunyoro village, where he has been receiving delegations from across the region, as well as from Nairobi and the Rift Valley. This has turned Wamunyoro into a centre of power, where major decisions are being made.

Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has also used his Irunduni home to receive regional delegations, in an attempt to counter Mr Gachagua and consolidate support in the region.

And now, a third centre of power has emerged in Kirinyaga county, where Ndia MP George Kariuki, an ally of President Ruto, has kicked off what he calls “consultative forums” at his home in Gacharu.

He says he’ll invite residents from the region and other parts of the country for the next 90 days “to chart the way forward for Mt Kenya region,” after which he will make the ‘Gacharu Declaration’.

Mr Kariuki’s speech when he addressed women leaders from Othaya constituency on Monday gave pointers as to what his next move could be, with political pundits saying the MP is being groomed as a preferred point man in Mt Kenya West region and probably a possible Dr Ruto’s running mate in the 2027 election.

“By next year, I will have served the people of Ndia for ten years. Am I not fit for a bigger role? Can’t I play a part in national politics?” Mr Kariuki said.

“You should not elect leaders based on political parties. Assess the aspirant’s capability and his commitment to the people of this region and Kenyans. Don’t be deceived by political pronouncements that will make you elect bad leaders,” Mr Kariuki told the women leaders.

There is even talk that Mr Kariuki is being groomed to take up the running mate position, if it is established that he would mobilise more votes from the region than Prof Kindiki.

Asked whether he is eyeing a higher elective position, the MP, however, declined to confirm his ambition to be Kenya’s deputy President, saying he would make an announcement after the consultations.

Mr Kariuki has in the recent past come out strongly speaking about the leadership in the region, saying “we need strong leaders” in an apparent reference to Prof Kindiki, who has so far not succeeded in countering Mr Gachagua.

Also, there has been a push by a section of leaders in the Mt Kenya East region to sever links with the west, a clamour being led by Public Service Cabinet Secretary Mr Geoffrey Ruku.

Mr Ruku’s push for a divided mountain has, however, put Prof Kindiki in a dilemma, where he has called for unity.

The East comprises Embu, Meru and Tharaka Nithi, where Prof Kindiki hails from, while the counties of Kirinyaga, Nyeri, Murang’a, Nyandarua and parts of Laikipia are in the west. With most of the opposition against President Ruto concentrated in the west, Mr Ruku accuses the region of betrayal.

On Tuesday, Mr Ruku confirmed to the Nation that there is “a grand scheme to win about three million votes for Dr Ruto in the Mt Kenya region.”

“The Ndia MP and I are working together and we will bring other like-minded leaders on board. We want to tell our people that this is a government we put in power and we cannot leave at this point in time. Of more significance, we have our son Kindiki at the top and we will support him,” Mr Ruku said.

He reiterated his assertion that Mt Kenya East would chart its own political path, and claimed that the region, including parts of Kirinyaga county, will mobilise more than three million votes in favour of Dr Ruto’s reflection bid.

“We in the East supported Jomo Kenyatta, Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta during their term as Presidents. But now that our own son Prof Kindiki is second in command and has chances of ascending to presidency in 2032, we have become your enemies. We will never allow ourselves to be herded like goats. We must chart our own political destiny,” he said.

This is where Mr Kariuki comes in with his third centre of power. With a united mountain vote in one basket so lethal it might make the Wantam clarion call real, by roping in Kirinyaga County, President Ruto’s strategy is to slice part of the rebellious Mt Kenya West vote.

Even as he pushes for Mt Kenya East autonomy, Mr Ruku, however, said that after Kirinyaga, their next move was to establish a base in Murang’a, Nyeri and Nyandarua counties.

On several occasions, Dr Ruto has told mountain voters that he was not yet done with the region. “You are the ones who helped me ascend to power, and I cannot abandon you. My relationship with the people of the mountain started over 20 years ago and nobody brought me here,” he told Nyeri residents early this year.

However, political pundits warn that the efforts by Dr Ruto’s camp to divide the mountain vote will not be a walk in the park given that DCP has made significant inroads not only in Mt Kenya but in other parts of the country, including President Ruto’s Rift Valley backyard.

Prof Gitile Naituli, a governance expert, says the positioning is being done to counter Mr Gachagua’s growing political influence. But he argues that while in the past Mt Kenya residents have never followed a leader, with Mr Gachagua, things have changed.

“Gachagua has established political dominance in Mt Kenya to a level that he has become the region’s kingpin. This is because the people feel that he is their savior from Kenya Kwanza administration’s attacks and perceived persecution,” he said, adding:

“It will also be an uphill task dividing the mountain vote because the people of this region don’t only vote together but they are over 50 per cent socially and economically integrated. It’ll not be a walk in the park.”

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