Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro. /SCREENGRABThe intrigues surrounding the selection of President William Ruto's running mate ahead of the 2022 General Election continue to unfold, with Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro introducing two prominent names who had not previously featured in the debate.
Until now, former Kiambu governor and current ICT Cabinet Secretary William Kabogo, current Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and his predecessor Rigathi Gachagua had dominated discussions surrounding Ruto's choice, with Gachagua eventually securing the ticket despite Kindiki garnering the majority of votes in the internal selection process.
Nyoro has now added a fresh twist by claiming that former Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia and Equity Group CEO James Mwangi were both approached to deputise Ruto but declined.
According to Nyoro, the two were considered suitable candidates because of their geographical positioning and were perceived at the time to have no major political baggage.
Both are from Murang'a county, with Macharia coming from Kigumo and Mwangi from Kangema.
"We approached several people to become running mates," Nyoro said during an interview with Citizen TV's Emmanuel Too.
"We approached the former CS for Transport, James Macharia, to become our running mate; he refused," he added.
Nyoro said the UDA brigade was at the time "so beaten" by the Jubilee regime that "we were not attractive", making it difficult to persuade prominent figures to join the political outfit.
"Human beings are rational to make a decision based on your convenience. He said no," he said.
Nyoro said the team subsequently approached Mwangi, but the Equity Group chief executive also turned down the offer to run for the country's second-highest office.
"We were looking for geography – which place has not produced this kind of a person, a person who is not having a lot of political majeraha (injury)," he said.
Gachagua would eventually be picked by Ruto as his preferred running mate, even though Kindiki secured more votes after three rounds of voting that lasted more than 24 hours in Karen.
Many within the Kenya Kwanza administration have previously argued that Gachagua was the logical choice because he had a political base in the Mt Kenya region and the ability to mobilise votes from the region.
Nyoro said the process of selecting the running mate proved far more difficult than initially anticipated.
"We thought it would be an easy task; we ended up spending over maybe 30 hours in that exercise," he said.
According to Nyoro, Kindiki garnered 28 votes while Gachagua received only five in the final round of voting.
As the voting dragged on, Nyoro said he went into a separate room with Ruto and Gachagua for further deliberations.
"Gachagua pulled out his phone and said he would call Uhuru because he was also looking for them," Nyoro said.
He said Kindiki had only recently resurfaced on the political scene after being unreachable by phone for about two years, and they argued that it would be unfair to Gachagua if the then Tharaka Nithi senator was handed the running mate ticket.
"I was campaigning for Gachagua 100 per cent; I was his chief campaigner in that thing, we got five votes but won," he said.
The following day, a Sunday, UDA called a press conference at which Gachagua was unveiled as Ruto's presidential running mate.
"I think Ruto weighed the situation and realised if he let go of these two stubborn people, he would have a problem," he said.
"And were you serious you would leave, or was that just a threat?" he was asked.
Nyoro laughed it off, saying sometimes in politics, one has to use threats.
"That morning, several leaders from Mt Kenya were absent at the presser," Nyoro said.
"Some of the leaders said they would not attend Ruto's rallies and they never went to those rallies."
Gachagua eventually fell out with Ruto, culminating in his impeachment in October 2024.
He was subsequently replaced by Kindiki.
Nyoro, who remained aligned with Gachagua throughout the political fallout, also suffered political consequences after he was removed as chairperson of the Budget and Appropriations Committee for refusing to vote in favour of Gachagua's ouster.
