The two leaders, both seeking control, or at least a significant share, of the vote-rich Mt Kenya region, have intensified their political activities across the region in recent weeks as they position themselves ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The rivalry has now spilled into party mobilisation, grassroots politics and political rallies, with each camp working to consolidate its base in what is shaping up to be one of the most consequential supremacy battles ahead of the 2027 polls.
One immediate battleground is the ongoing UDA grassroots elections scheduled for Saturday across 18 counties.
In the Mt Kenya region, the exercise will cover Nyandarua, Laikipia, Meru, Tharaka Nithi, Embu, Kirinyaga, Nyeri, Murang’a and Kiambu counties, providing yet another arena for UDA to demonstrate and flex its muscle in the region.
Kindiki on Thursday chaired a grassroots elections preparedness meeting at Hustler Plaza in Nairobi, where he said the exercise would strengthen the party’s structures at the grassroots level.
The Deputy President emphasised that the elections were critical in deepening the party’s presence across the country as it seeks to consolidate support ahead of 2027.
At the same time, Gachagua was hosting 134 aspirants seeking to fly the Democracy for Citizens Party ticket at his Wamunyoro residence in Nyeri.
The aspirants from Kirinyaga county are seeking various positions, including governor, senator, woman representative, MP and MCA.
While promising them free and fair nominations, Gachagua urged the aspirants to intensify recruitment of party members, noting that nominations would be conducted using the party’s membership register.
“I have urged them to work hard to be elected,” he said. “All traitors of the Kenyan people and our community who are helping William Ruto persecute our people must be voted out without fear or favour.”
Yet the question lingering over the unfolding contest remains: Who will blink first?
In the ratcheting political showdown, both leaders have increasingly taken their campaigns to each other’s perceived strongholds.
Last week, Gachagua and his United Opposition allies camped in Kindiki’s political backyard of Tharaka Nithi, Meru and Embu counties in a show of defiance that bordered on contempt.
The counter-mobilisation has been swift.
On Sunday, while Gachagua and his allies addressed supporters in Buuri in Meru county, Kindiki was holding parallel engagements in North Imenti and Makutano in the same county.
In a fiery response, the Deputy President warned that he would not hesitate to confront his predecessor politically, while calling for respect in the ongoing contest.
The political manoeuvres have continued to intensify.
On Tuesday, Gachagua hosted a meeting with a group of former MPs from the region in what appeared to be another effort to consolidate political networks around his camp.
Those in attendance included Kabinga Wathayu (Mwea), Munene Wambugu (Kirinyaga Central), Gichuki Mugambi (Othaya), Gichuhi Mwangi (Tetu), Anthony Kiai (Mukurweini), Peter Mwathi (Limuru) and Wainaina Jungle (Thika Town).
Their engagement adds another layer to the political realignment currently unfolding across Mt Kenya.
Allies of the two leaders have also increasingly joined the fray.
Former Attorney General and Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi on Thursday recounted how Gachagua ultimately emerged as the preferred running mate, despite many MPs initially backing Kindiki.
He explained that although most Mt Kenya MPs had initially voted for Kindiki, Ruto felt that Kindiki did not seem to understand politics well enough.
“Eventually, he told me he had made up his mind that Rigathi Gachagua would be the running mate because picking Kindiki would have been political suicide. It would have cost us votes,” Muturi said during an interview on Radio Generation.
Muturi argued that Gachagua’s understanding of grassroots politics and mobilisation capacity ultimately helped deliver votes from the Mt Kenya region during the election.
“And indeed that is exactly what happened — Gachagua delivered the votes,” he said.
“That reality has not changed to date. Ruto himself knows that Kindiki does not have the kind of political influence in the Mt Kenya region that can sway the vote.”
However, Kindiki’s allies have pushed back strongly against the claims.
Former Nairobi Governor Ann Kananu, who has declared her bid for the Maara parliamentary seat in Tharaka Nithi county, defended the Deputy President.
“I am telling Gachagua, can you stop divisive politics?” she said.
“He must stop interfering with the politics of Tharaka Nithi and keep his lane. He cannot be insulting the Deputy President in his backyard. When he occupied that office, what did he do other than propagating ‘shareholding politics’?”
Meanwhile, Kindiki has shown his mettle, spearheading wins in the November and February by-elections, delivering the seats to UDA against United Opposition parties.
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