Kiharu MP Ndindi
Nyoro’s decision to leave the UDA, join the opposition and revive and lead the People’s Party of Kenya
has opened a fresh and potentially consequential battle over the future of Mt
Kenya.
Already, allies of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua accuse Nyoro of being part of a broader strategy by President William Ruto to weaken him. His supporters, however, see Nyoro him as an emerging independent force offering Mt Kenya an alternative political direction.
Nyoro, now aged 40, entered Parliament in 2017 as Kiharu MP from Murang’a on a Jubilee ticket, at a time when President Uhuru Kenyatta and DP Ruto were building their political alliance to prepare for reelection.
He subsequently became one of the President’s most prominent young allies and rose to chair the powerful National Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee. Earlier he had served as CDF manager and then personal assistant to Kiharu MP Irungu Kang’ata.
His political
profile grew rapidly, transforming him from a constituency politician into one
of the most recognisable younger figures in national politics.
That rise, however, has always carried a lingering question over whether Nyoro’s political influence was entirely his own or whether he was part of a Ruto’s wider succession strategy.
Speaking to supporters in Murang’a on Wednesday, Nyoro said he had campaigned for the Kenya Kwanza government in the 2022 election but had since become disillusioned by what he described as the administration’s failure to honour its promises.
“The last time we were here with the government, we told you there was a bottom-up approach, but today, are you up or bottom?” Nyoro asked.
During his party launch, he said he had ended his association with UDA, maintaining that he would channel his energy into campaigning against Ruto’s re-election while supporting the broader opposition.
“For the avoidance of doubt, you all know we left government and disassociated ourselves with UDA,” Nyoro said.
He then outlined his new political direction, saying he would work closely with leaders within the opposition while ruling out cooperation with politicians who have attacked former DP Gachagua.
"The People's Party (of Kenya) haina watu wa matusi na watu wa fujo. Kama wewe umetukana Gachagua, na Matiang'i, na Kalonzo, hii chama yetu haina nafasi yako," he said.
Nyoro urged leaders
seeking to join the party to first make peace with members of the opposition.
Political analyst John Wahinya told the Star that the Kiharu MP’s decision to bar Gachagua’s critics from PPK is calculated to reassure the DCP leader that the party will not undermine his influence in the opposition.
“Nyoro is telling Gachagua that he may have chosen his own political vehicle, but he has not chosen a political path against him,” Wahina said. “By shutting the door on Gachagua’s attackers, he is creating room for cooperation while preserving his independence. It is a political handshake without formally joining DCP.”
He argued the move to revive and lead the largely dormant PPK will soon be under a lot scrutiny during Gachagua’s DCP campaigns as they try to link him with Ruto’s UDA.
Speaking to the Star on Wednesday, TSP leader Mwangi Kiunjuri said political democracy must be respected, adding that Gachagua has been abusing the democratic space by attacking other leaders.
Kiunjuri rejected the attacks and defended Nyoro’s right to establish himself with his own political party.
“I heard Gachagua referring to Ndindi Nyoro’s party as a wheelbarrow [UDA’s symbol], claiming that it’s associated with President William Ruto,” Kiunjuri said. “We won’t be intimidated by his theatrics, let him push for his party.”
He also criticised the former DP’s approach to political rivals, noting that the people of Mt Kenya should be allowed to elect their own leaders without being discriminated against.
“Gachagua is bitter
with other leaders, and we will not allow him to divide the Mt Kenya region. If
a motion to impeach Gachagua is brought to Parliament again, I would impeach
him again,” Kiunjuri said.
The move by Nyoro to join, revive and lead a new party has already unsettled Gachagua’s allies, who view the emergence of PPK as a competitor.
John Methu, the DCP secretary general-designate and Nyandarua senator,has emerged as one of Nyoro’s strongest critics, linking PPK to Ruto and accusing the President of using multiple parties to divide the Mt Kenya vote.
Speaking in Wamunyoro this week, Methu said the emergence of PPK was another strategy to weaken the region politically and preventing it from consolidating around Gachagua.
“After [Public Service] CS Geoffrey Ruku’s attempt to divide the mountain failed, we are now seeing him use another strategy, which our leader [Gachagua] has warned about. We have decided here that we are under one party and behind one leader,” Methu said.
Methu went further, claiming that the PPK revival with Nyoro at its head was only one part of a broader plan involving other political parties expected to emerge in the region.
“To cut us down to size, Ruto has decided to take us back to 1992. We know all the wheelbarrows that are coming up, including one from Murang’a and others in Laikipia and Nakuru,” he said.
The accusations
have placed the question of Nyoro’s independence at the centre of the political
debate.
Political analyst and Jkuat lecturer Charles Mwangi argued Nyoro’s decision to establish himself at a fresh PPK is a legitimate expression of Kenya’s multiparty democracy, giving voters another political choice.
“Democracy is strengthened when citizens have competing political choices. Nyoro has a right to build his own political vehicle, and its success or failure should be decided by voters, not political gatekeepers,” Mwangi said.
He further said political unity should not be imposed through demands for one party or one leader.
“You cannot impose
political unity by telling leaders which party to join. If Nyoro wins public
support, that is democracy; if voters reject him, that too is democracy.”
However, political
analyst Edwin Mwangi said Nyoro’s departure from UDA has put his political
credibility to the test, saying his biggest challenge is to prove the influence
he built while close to Ruto can survive outside the President’s political
machinery.
“Nyoro’s biggest test is not leaving UDA, it is proving the political capital he built under Ruto belongs to him. If he can carry that support into his own party, he becomes a serious political player. If he cannot, the ‘Ruto project’ label will follow him into 2027,” Mwangi said.
The argument is already being tested by Gachagua’s allies, who maintain that Nyoro is unnecessarily creating another political centre in a region where DCP is seeking to consolidate support behind one party and one leader.
East African Legislative Assembly MP Kanini Kega, while speaking to the Star, dismissed Nyoro’s move as unnecessary political fragmentation. He is a Gachagua ally seeking to recapture the Kieni seat on a DCP ticket.
“You don’t reinvent the wheel. We already have a party, and a popular one at that. He [Nyoro] was welcome to DCP and no one prevented him from joining. As we saw in Ol Kalou, DCP is the party of choice in the mountain,” Kega said.
He also linked Nyoro’s move to Ruto’s earlier comments that he was mentoring the region’s leaders.
“It is important to remember the President is on record saying he is mentoring some leaders in this region. Nyoro has never countered those remarks. In his speech, he really didn’t castigate Ruto. I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he added.
Kiambu Senator Karungo wa Thang’wa has taken the criticism further, questioning Nyoro’s record during some of the most controversial moments of the Ruto administration.
“The question is where were you when Gen Z protesters were killed? Where were you when the Finance Bill was passed? Where were you when goons were destroying our property? Where were you when Ruto called us tribalists?” Thang’wa asked.
Gatanga MP Edwin Muriu also dismissed PPK, describing it as the “newest baby wheelbarrow in town”, a reference to Gachagua’s repeated description of parties he accuses of being proxies of Ruto in Mt Kenya.
Mukurweini MP John Kaguchia reiterated the DCP camp’s central position: “One mountain, one party, one leader.”
Despite attacks from the opposition and Gachagua’s close allies, a section of leaders has welcomed Nyoro’s move, describing it as a boost to multiparty democracy.
Taking to social media, nominated Senator Karen Nyamu has defended Nyoro’s move, portraying his political experience under Ruto as a strength rather than evidence that he remains tied to the President.
“Mt Kenya West elites ni kama wanaweza pumua sasa. This man Ndindi is a graduate of the William Ruto school of politics, issue-based politics that speaks to people’s lives,” Nyamu said.
Nyamu also welcomed
the emergence of PPK in Mt Kenya West, saying the region now has a political
figure seeking to provide direction on where it should be headed.
“At least sasa Mt Kenya West mko na mtu anataka kuwaambia mnaenda wapi, sio tu nani aende,” she added.
Jubilee deputy leader Fred Matiang’i welcomed Nyoro’s party and sent a congratulatory message.
“Your latest decision will create more opportunities for effective political participation while enhancing our collective chances of restoring better leadership in our country,” the former Interior CS said. He added that he looked forward to working with Nyoro’s party.
President Ruto, meanwhile, has remained silent on Nyoro’s political departure, leaving his close allies to respond to a development involving a politician once considered one of his most promising young allies.
Ruto’s close ally Farouk Kibet has criticised Nyoro over his reinvigorating PPK, questioning his political identity and accusing him of promoting what he described as “small tribalism”.
Farouk said he had previously viewed Nyoro as a Kenyan nationalist but was surprised by what he saw as a shift in his political outlook.
“I thought Ndindi Nyoro was a nationalist, but I have learnt he is a tribalist. I wish he had joined that party of that tribal man, Gachagua, instead of launching the People’s Party. He has become tribal,” he said.
Gachagua early this week warned political parties seeking to gain ground in the region that DCP is there to stay, making it clear he will not surrender the political space he has been building since his falling out with Ruto.
“Na tumesema hapa Milimani chama ni moja, kiongozi ni moja. Kutoka governor mpaka chini, chama ni DCP,” Gachagua said.
The former DP had earlier alleged that Ruto was planning to sponsor the formation of a new political party in Murang’a as part of a broader strategy to divide the Mt Kenya vote ahead of the general election.
“William Ruto knows it, and we are aware he is already scheming. We are aware of a small wheelbarrow coming up in Murang’a. We will announce it and shout about it when it is done,” he said.
Political analyst Patrick Muchendu had earlier warned that Nyoro’s perceived fence-sitting could prove costly, making him appear indecisive to voters.
Muchendu had also cautioned Nyoro against forming his own political vehicle before 2027, arguing it could struggle in a Mt Kenya region already crowded with established political formations.
