In just over a month, Nyoro’s party has recruited more than 350 political aspirants across the country, with the largest concentration in Mt Kenya.
The new and potential members include sitting and former MCAs, MPs, senators and gubernatorial aspirants.
The scale and geographical spread of the recruitment could complicate Gachagua’s ambition to consolidate the region behind DCP and its allies.
Gachagua and his allies have been pushing the message of ‘one mountain, one party, one leader’, seeking to persuade Mt Kenya voters to rally behind a single political vehicle ahead of 2027.
But Nyoro is building an alternative through the People’s Party.
The Kiharu MP’s recruitment lists show PPK aspirants spread across Murang’a, Kiambu, Nyandarua, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Embu, Meru and other parts of the region, which are Gachagua’s supposed bedrock.
Most are seeking MCA seats, while others are targeting Parliament and governorships.
The party has also moved beyond Mt Kenya, recruiting candidates in areas such as Kajiado, Narok, Isiolo, Marsabit, Homa Bay, Kitui and Machakos.
That presents a direct threat to DCP because some of the areas where PPK is establishing itself overlap with regions where Gachagua and his allies are seeking political influence.
Gachagua’s allies have responded by portraying Nyoro’s party as an instrument of the Ruto camp designed to fragment Mt Kenya.
This triggered a harsh response from Nyoro, who asked Gachagua and allies to leave him out of their politics.
Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei also made a claim linking Nyoro to the scheme.
“DCP thought it had control over Mt Kenya, but now there is Ndindi Nyoro from Murang’a pushing the wheelbarrow for us,” Cherargei said on Thursday.
Gachagua’s allies have used the ‘wheelbarrow’ to accuse Nyoro of working at the behest of President William Ruto to divide the Mt Kenya vote.
Cherargei’s remark suggests a divided Mt Kenya opposition would benefit Ruto’s camp by preventing DCP from establishing a political monopoly in the region.
On Wednesday, he told the Star that Ruto would still draw significant support from the region.
Nyoro has, however, rejected accusations that PPK is a Ruto project, arguing that he has joined the opposition and that the party will work with other opposition formations.
The People’s Party does not necessarily have to win large numbers of seats to hurt DCP. It only needs to attract enough votes from DCP-backed candidates to alter the outcome of closely contested races.
Perhaps more significantly, PPK is providing a soft landing ground for politicians who are dissatisfied with UDA but are not certain that DCP offers them a secure political future.
Some of Nyoro’s recruits are sitting UDA officials or politicians who have defected from the ruling party.
In Kiambu, for example, sitting MCAs Zack Macharia and Winnie Wambui are listed as having crossed from UDA. In Murang’a, sitting MCA Naomi Nyambura is also listed as having defected from UDA.
Politicians who feel DCP is becoming too restrictive or that there is limited space for them in the party may look elsewhere.
Nyoro’s PPK offers an alternative political vehicle as it identifies with the opposition and the ‘wantam’ team.
Nyoro is also building the party around his own political profile.
The Kiharu MP cultivated an image as a policy-oriented politician and was once the Budget chairman in the National Assembly. He now presents himself as a former government insider who understands how government works but has broken with the administration.
His political profile and development record, particularly among younger voters and politicians, could give PPK an appeal distinct from the established opposition parties.
He has himself said that the rate at which aspirants are joining the outfit is testament that they were looking for something different.
