Rifts tear through Mt Kenya as Rigathi fights for dominance

His aggressive campaign to consolidate the region under his Democracy for the Citizens Party is facing headwinds, with many opposition voices rising up.

The conflict pits Gachagua against his former boss, President William Ruto, and a growing list of local rivals, exposing deep fissures within the region. Gachagua’s strategy has triggered a wave of resistance.

His recent threats against some women leaders he accused of betrayal sparked protests in support of Governors Anne Waiguru and Cecily Mbarire.

“To our women leaders who have betrayed our community, we will deal with you as traitors. If he (Ruto) is using you and you think we shall spare you, we will not,” he declared.

The statement, perceived as coercive and threatening, triggered immediate backlash, with women staging demonstrations in Kutus and Embu to defend Waiguru and Mbarire.

This public defiance highlighted the resistance that Gachagua’s aggressive tactics are generating on the ground.

More critically, over 90 per cent of the region’s MPs have refused to switch allegiance from President Ruto.

Although there is debate about their survival in the next election, their defiance underscores the heavy fighting that awaits Gachagua in 2027.

Mathira MP Eric Wamumbi offered a scathing critique, asserting that Gachagua has become his own worst enemy.

“He is scattering instead of bringing people together. Unlike President Ruto, who is bringing people together, the other one is coercing, intimidating, and threatening instead of encouraging unity of purpose,” Wamumbi stated.

He further suggested that Gachagua lacks the necessary humility for senior leadership, contrasting his approach with President Ruto’s more conciliatory outreach to political kinsmen.

He told the Star in an interview on Tuesday that Gachagua was yet to appreciate that even as a senior leader, one needs to approach matters with humility.

“President Ruto is approaching people kindly. He is reaching out to his kinsmen, as we saw him do with Gideon Moi recently. The other guy has no language to woo leaders to his side,” Wamumbi said.

The lawmaker said that Gachagua has shown that anytime he has gone up, his worth runs out.

“It happened when he was DP, where he chose to threaten MPs, and now, when the ground resonated with him after his impeachment. People now see him as a problem, and we will chart our own paths,” Wamumbi stated.

Since his impeachment in October last year, Gachagua embarked on an aggressive campaign, tapping into the ‘one term’ narrative to prevent Ruto’s re-election.

His strategy has centred on rallying the region behind the Democracy for the Citizens Party, which he has branded as Mt Kenya’s special purpose vehicle for 2027.

But his consolidation efforts have triggered a backlash from multiple quarters, creating a wave of resistance that could make it impossible for the region to vote in one basket.

The political landscape of Mt Kenya is now a crowded and chaotic field of competing interests.

Notable leaders, including Laikipia East MP Mwangi Kiunjuri, ex-Trade CS Moses Kuria, PNU leader Peter Munya, and former Ndaragwa MP Jeremiah Kioni, are pulling in different directions.

Their respective political vehicles - TSP, Chama cha Kazi, PNU, and Jubilee- are actively scrambling to prevent DCP’s influence, making the vote-rich region a political battleground.

Within the united opposition, Martha Karua’s People’s Liberation Party and Justin Muturi’s Democratic Party are also vying for influence in Mt Kenya, as is Jimmy Wanjigi’s Safina Party.

Perhaps most notably, efforts to create another force are gaining momentum, with Kioni promoting former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i as a potential presidential candidate.

For political analyst Charles Munyui, the “mountain has a way of zeroing in on one leader at a time”.

“When it was Matiba, the same mountain used to refer to Kibaki as General Kiguoya (a cowardly general) and fence sitter...exit Matiba, Kibaki was their darling.” “An attempt to go against that by Uhuru Kenyatta saw him lose in 2002...but after Kibaki left the stage, Uhuru was elected overwhelmingly.

“The concern would be whether or not the region can afford to have even a handful of votes stray because they could be the swing votes tilting the balance elsewhere,” Munyui said.

Despite the overwhelming evidence of division, a contingent of Gachagua’s allies vehemently disputes the narrative of a splintering region.

Former Starehe MP Maina Kamanda disagrees with sentiments bordering on a split in Mt Kenya following the ensuing turmoil.

“It will be more united than before because of Kasongo (referring to Ruto). Waiguru is fighting for space, but she and her allies know they are not at the level of Riggy G,” the former MP said.

He cited a poll conducted by Kameme FM on Tuesday, which showed Rigathi as the most preferred for Mt Kenya kingpin. The poll also featured Uhuru, Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro and Deputy President Kithure Kindiki.

Kamanda dismissed the emergence of parties as a sign of fragmentation, saying the region has had such small parties since the advent of multiparty politics.

“You can’t stop the parties from cropping up. We know most of our people will be sponsored by Ruto to water down DCP and undermine Gachagua, but they are in for doom,” the ex-MP said.

Echoing this sentiment, Embakasi Central MP Benjamin Gathiru alias Mejjadonk, a staunch Gachagua ally, also dismissed the apparent cracks.

“How many women were protesting in Kirinyaga? I doubt they even reached 200 as compared to the hundreds of thousands of Kirinyaga residents who want Ruto out,” the MP said.

Quoting his leader, Gachagua, Gathiru said, “Anybody who wishes to divide Mt Kenya must meet the wrath of the people. Did you hear the so-called women leaders’ voices when the Gen Zs were being killed?

“Leaders have to be treated as leaders, not as women,” the MP quipped, dismissing the impact of the Ruto and allies’ team.

The emerging political realignments suggest two potential scenarios.

It is either Gachagua succeeds in consolidating the region under DCP, fundamentally altering the country’s political calculus, or the region remains divided among multiple parties, weakening its collective bargaining power.

What remains clear is that Mt Kenya’s internal dynamics will definitely influence the country’s political direction for years to come.