Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro speaking during an interview on Citizen TV, September 2 /SCREENGRABKiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro has detailed the events that led to his fallout with President William Ruto, saying their relationship began to deteriorate after he refused to participate in efforts to impeach then Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
Nyoro, once one of Ruto's most vocal allies and defenders of the Kenya Kwanza administration, said their political differences eventually became irreconcilable, setting him on a path that could see him challenge the President in the 2027 General Election.
Speaking on Citizen TV on Wednesday night, Nyoro said he had campaigned extensively for Ruto and remained loyal to him even during the President's early years in government.
"I went to hundreds of meetings and campaigned for this government and campaigned for William Ruto. We were very close as we were close with all the other leaders, including the Deputy President," he recalled.
Nyoro also spoke of his relationship with Gachagua, saying the then Deputy President would occasionally spend time at his home during periods of political upheaval under the Jubilee administration.
"But I believe I'm a good human being who people trust because if you send me anywhere, you can be sure a shilling will not be lost. I have been very loyal to the people I come close to including the President," he said.
"But he was not," he added.
Nyoro said the relationship with Ruto began to change in 2024 when a section of Mt Kenya MPs allied to the government started pushing for Gachagua's removal.
He said a meeting was held at a hotel in Nyahururu to strategise on the effort to remove Gachagua, whose support in Mt Kenya had been considered important to Ruto's 2022 presidential victory.
According to Nyoro, the meeting sought to position then Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki as the region's link to the government rather than Gachagua.
"And the President called me that evening and told me, 'Hiyo mkutano ni yangu iko huko, nataka uende na uende usome hiyo kitu', now the press statement," Nyoro said.
He said he initially agreed to the President's request but changed his mind after the call ended.
"So, they went ahead with the presser but after that, the heavy hammer came around the impeachment time. When the impeachment time came, we were still very close in the government."
Nyoro said his relationship with Gachagua had also deteriorated by then because of disagreements between them.
However, when the impeachment motion reached the National Assembly, he declined to sign it.
He said Ruto learnt that he had not signed the motion while the President was in New York attending the 79th United Nations General Assembly.
"So the President was in New York and he was calling people to sign and he realised I had not signed and he called me and I told him 'ukirudi nitakueleza'. And I went to him when he came and told him out of conscience, not political considerations, I will not get involved in the impeachment."
Nyoro said he maintained that position throughout the process, declining to vote in the impeachment proceedings.
He also said he did not attend the swearing-in of Kindiki as Deputy President after Gachagua's removal.
Gachagua was impeached by the National Assembly on October 8, 2024, with the Senate upholding his removal on October 17, 2024.
Nyoro said his relationship with Ruto continued to deteriorate after Gachagua's removal.
He identified his removal as chairperson of the National Assembly's Budget and Appropriations Committee as a direct consequence of his unwavering stance on the impeachment.
"It was not a sudden event, it was more of a process because even after the impeachment, I continued to be the budget chair but I was no longer in the kitchen. Then I was knocked out of the chairmanship. Later on they ejected me from the committee."
Nyoro said Ruto never personally informed him about the impending changes or explained why he was being removed from positions he had previously held.
"Maybe people expected me to go all out to fighting but possibly maybe, I also wanted to get out. There was no reason to fight."
Nyoro was removed as chairperson of the Budget and Appropriations Committee in March 2025 and was subsequently removed from the committee altogether on July 29, 2025.
Nyoro dismissed speculation that he had since reconciled politically with Ruto, rejecting claims that his move to the People's Party was part of a wider strategy to divide the Mt Kenya vote and weaken the opposition ahead of the 2027 election.
"The last conversation we ever had anything about politics was the sitting on me not participating in the impeachment. That was the last political conversation we ever had," he said.
Nyoro said he continued to attend meetings during the few months he remained chairman of the Budget and Appropriations Committee but no longer interacted on a personal level with the President.
"Maybe the expectation was I would go begging but I never did, maybe to the people then, and especially him, it came out like 'he doesn't care'."
Ruto has previously denied orchestrating or influencing Gachagua's impeachment.
The President has instead argued that Gachagua's own actions contributed to his political downfall.
Nyoro's account offers a glimpse into the political tensions within the Kenya Kwanza administration and the events that preceded his break with Ruto, as both the ruling coalition and opposition begin positioning themselves for the 2027 General Election.
