John Gathungu, an elder, addressing journalists during a meeting in Kirinyaga on August 17, 2026/ ALICE WAITHERA
A section of Kikuyu elders from Kirinyaga County has rejected attempts to create separate Mt Kenya East and Mt Kenya West political blocs, warning that the move could divide the region for individual political gain.
The elders, drawn from the Kiama Kia Ma outfit, also distanced themselves from a meeting held in Embu last week by elders from the Njuri Ncheke Supreme Council, Nyaangi Ndiriri, Kiama Kia Muembu, Ngome and Mwea Council of Elders.
“We are very angry that there are leaders who aren’t even from Kirinyaga making absurd proclamations that parts of Kirinyaga should be and will be part of Mt Kenya East,” Chief Elder Muriithi Warutere said.
The Embu meeting brought together elders from Meru, Embu, Tharaka-Nithi, Kirinyaga and Isiolo, who declared themselves the Mt Kenya East Councils of Elders and endorsed Deputy President Kithure Kindiki as President William Ruto’s running mate in the 2027 General Election. They also backed his future presidential ambitions.
In their joint resolution, the elders said Mt Kenya East had for decades supported leaders from Mt Kenya West and that the time had come for the western side to reciprocate by backing Kindiki.
They also mandated their councils to engage Mt Kenya West elders, including Kiama Kia Ma, in efforts to establish a common political position.
But the Kirinyaga elders said the Embu declaration could not be used to determine the political identity or direction of their county without consulting residents.
Warutere said Kirinyaga had elected leaders mandated to represent its people and warned against turning the county and the wider Mt Kenya region into political instruments.
“We as elders and the people of Kirinyaga stand firm in denying this. We refuse to be included in someone who is seeking a political lifeline using us. We are part of one region, Mt Kenya, and we speak in one voice,” he said.
The elders also rejected attempts to classify areas such as Mwea and Gichugu as part of a separate Mt Kenya East political bloc, insisting that Kirinyaga remained part of the wider Mt Kenya region.
Members of Kiama Kia Ma council of elders during a meeting in Kirinyaga county on August 17, 2026/ ALICE WAITHERAJohn Gathungu, another elder, said political pronouncements could not redefine the county’s identity or determine who should speak for its residents.
“We want to tell those people trying to classify us as Mt Kenya East that Kirinyaga starts from River Sagana to River Rupingazi. They have no authority to speak on our behalf on matters of politics,” Gathungu said.
He said Kirinyaga had elected leaders from the governor to MPs and MCAs who had the mandate to represent residents, adding that political decisions affecting the county should not be made by individuals without the people’s consent.
Gathungu said the proposed division also went against the historical ties that brought the Gikuyu, Embu and Meru communities together under GEMA.
“On matters of Mt. Kenya East and West, we as elders want to remind them that our ancestors brought Gikuyu, Embu and Meru together to form GEMA, and that is what we the people from Mt Kenya, recognise. We are one people, and we won’t be divided for some people to gain politically and individually,” he said.
The Embu elders had, however, framed their position as an effort to strengthen Mt Kenya East’s political bargaining power while still calling for dialogue with Mt Kenya West.
Their resolution also endorsed Ruto’s re-election and placed Kindiki at the centre of their proposed political engagement with the wider region.
The Kirinyaga elders said their opposition was not directed at their neighbours in Embu and Mbeere, with whom they said they maintained cordial relations, but at attempts to impose a political identity on Kirinyaga without the consent of its residents.
“We love our neighbours from Embu and Mbeere, but we are Kirinyaga and we are all one people and won’t accept to be divided,” Warutere said.
Waweru Mugo, an elder from Mwea, said the proposed political realignment was being driven by political interests rather than the needs of ordinary residents.
He urged leaders to stop using Kirinyaga and the wider Mt Kenya region as political pawns, saying residents should be allowed to determine their own political direction ahead of the 2027 General Election.
