Mt Kenya East vs West: Battle to keep Kindiki as Ruto’s deputy

President William Ruto and his deputy Kithure Kindiki./FILE

Deputy President Kithure Kindiki’s allies from his Mt Kenya East backyard are engaged in a fierce campaign to secure his position on the ruling party’s 2027 ticket.

They have made a single, urgent plea to their cousins in Mt Kenya West to return the favour and support their son retain the top job.

The DP’s allies have sent a message with a veiled threat that it won’t be business as usual, and are ready to break away if that support is not forthcoming.

It has emerged that the quest to retain Kindiki on the UDA ticket is not merely for another term as DP but as the region’s anointed heir to the presidency in 2032.

While the catalyst is the 2027 race, the battle is deeply rooted in decades of perceived political injustice, bias, and the future of the region’s power.

Kindiki is being positioned as the man to take the mantle of leading the greater Mt Kenya, a position that Rigathi Gachagua is also laying claim to.

The renewed push has evolved into a tense political negotiation, threatening the unity of the country’s most powerful voting bloc.

Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku and Embu Governor Cecily Mbarire are leading the charge, framing the moment as a historic reckoning.

They argue that the East has supported Kikuyu presidents - Jomo Kenyatta, Mwai Kibaki, and Uhuru Kenyatta - without complaint.

Ruku framed the current moment as a critical test.

“We supported Kenyatta One, Kenyatta Two, and Kibaki, and we didn’t complain,” he stated. “Now, when we have our own, who we want to position for the 2032 presidency, we are being told to leave. No way.”

For the leaders, DP Kindiki is the rightful heir to the presidency in 2032 and abandoning him now is unthinkable.

“We must liberate ourselves as the people of Mt Kenya East, and the time to liberate ourselves is now,” Ruku said.

For Ruku, the Mt Kenya East people are different, have unique traditions and customs.

“We are not Kikuyus, we don’t speak the Kikuyu language; we speak Mbeere, our traditions are different,” the CS said.

Mbarire said they want to chart their own political path as a region if the Kikuyu are willing to play ball.

The sentiments have been embolden following UDA's win in Mbeere North, seen as a vote of confidence in Kindiki.

“We have a Deputy President who is a member of our region, and we believe he is best placed to lead us,” she said.

For the proponents, the Deputy President is a heartbeat away from the presidency, a feat they say will be easier if both sides worked together.

More leaders have joined the fray, even as several MPs intimated to the Star that they didn’t want to be sucked into the debate – at least for now.

Tigania West MP Mutunga Kanyuithia said, “The President and the Deputy President are elected on one ticket. If they are seeking a second term, they go as a pair.”

Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wah threw his weight behind regional unity and urged other regions to reciprocate Mt Kenya East’s support over the years.

While rooting for Kindiki, the lawmaker underscored the importance of cohesion within the Mt Kenya region.

“Kindiki is a leader for all of Mt Kenya, that is why many people are rallying behind him,” the National Assembly Majority Leader said in Embu on Thursday.

The fear of a breakaway, of liberating the East, is now a central card in the political game.

It is gaining momentum each day, with impeached DP Rigathi Gachagua emerging as a central factor.

A group of youths from the region, calling itself Gema Youth Caucus, recently dismissed Gachagua’s claims to command “seven million votes”.

“The region has one leader and the highest ranking is Prof Kithure Kindiki,” they said.

They decried years of marginalisation and asked Kindiki to ensure there is fairness in the allocation of resources in regions from Gema.

“Meru people have been left behind in Mau Mau roads and state appointments,” they said.

Some political observers say it is a plot by President Ruto to avert the situation of the Mt Kenya region rallying against him as a bloc.

Mt Kenya East has about 1.3 million registered voters, spread across Embu (334,302), Tharaka Nithi (231,932), and Meru (772,139).

Mt Kenya West has about 3.3 million votes, with Kiambu having the highest at 1,275,008, according to IEBC’s 2022 voters register.

Murang’a has the second highest at 620,929, followed by Nyeri’s 481,632 votes, Kirinyaga's (376,001), Nyandarua's (361,165), and Laikipia's (263,012).

In retaining Kindiki, pundits say Ruto is likely to get a boost in the face of Gachagua’s rebellion, threatening to chip away a chunk of the voting bloc.

Mt Kenya is viewed as a contrast of stories, with the East lagging behind in matters of development.

The mud-walled classrooms of Tharaka, compared with the concrete-paved primary schools in Murang’a, have highlighted the divide.

Some MPs posited that there are major roads that have stalled for years, and only had works to fix them begin recently after Kindiki rose in rank.

For many Kindiki loyalists, supporting Gachagua’s claim to be the region’s singular leader is tantamount to perpetuating the second-class status.

In their view, the DP’s office is not just a personal achievement for the law professor but a collective vessel for redressing historical imbalances.

A big divide has played out among residents of the region.

For voices in Mt Kenya West, “They (Ruku, Mbarire, and Kindiki) should not keep blaming Mt Kenya West for lack of development when they had the opportunity to deliver to their people.”

Gachagua's allies from the region have dismissed the agitation, saying those behind it were no better than those who ended up betrayed by Ruto.

DCP organising secretary and former Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi opposed the calls, saying Ruku has no authority to speak for the region.

“Whom is he speaking for? That is not the path we want to take. We made up our mind,” Linturi said.

Uhuru Kenyatta has struck a conciliatory tone, sending a message of unity as the region hurtles towards the 2027 polls.

In a recent speech delivered on his behalf by former Nakuru Governor Kinuthia Mbugua, he said the unity of Mt Kenya would work to the region’s advantage.

For political analyst Peterson Mirichii, Kindiki needs the support of the entire region.

“The Mt Kenya region currently holds the Deputy President’s position and is presented with a credible, structured pathway to the presidency in 2032. “

He added, “The alternative side offers the mountain neither the presidency nor the deputy presidency. Under such circumstances, why should we be persuaded to follow anyone into our political doom?”

Kindiki has lately intensified his engagements in the Mt Kenya East backyard, pointing to efforts to consolidate the region.

Besides the public engagements, his Irunduni village home has been a beehive of activities.

He described the meetings as laying the ground to receive delegations from other parts of the country, including Mt Kenya West.

INSTANT ANALYSIS

By allowing, or even subtly encouraging, these internal divisions, Ruto may be averting the danger of a single, united bloc that could later turn against him in 2027. He appears to be adopting a divide-and-conquer strategy to ensure his own re-election bid is not held hostage.