It could be a defining political moment this week if former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua unveils his new political vehicle. That term is used here deliberately, because Kenya has no political parties in the classical sense. What we have is a collection of special-purpose vehicles that powerful ethnic chiefs form solely to gun for power or bargain for positions.
The overcrowded list of registered political outfits can hardly reveal one that has defining or identifiable characteristics in terms of ideology and policies.
Even the parties that have grown to assume a semblance of national identity—such as President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance, Mr Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement, the Wiper Democratic Movement of Mr Kalonzo Musyoka, the dissolved Amani National Congress of Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and the Jubilee Party of former President Uhuru Kenyatta —are all at best personal movements, with little to demonstrate that they can survive exit of a principal financier and patron.
Whatever party Mr Gachagua unveils might well place him at par with the likes of President Ruto and Mr Odinga in owning a powerful political movement with the capacity to play a decisive role in national politics from now on up to the 2027 General Election.
It might be a key moment in establishing him as the key force in political leadership for the populous Mt Kenya region; and therefore a person whose influence at the next elections, as a kingmaker if not as a candidate, cannot be ignored.
For Mr Gachagua, the occasion will also be key towards establishing his credentials as a national player who has ventured beyond the village. For much of the period he was under siege, leading to his impeachment in October last year, he was lampooned within the governing Kenya Kwanza Alliance as a villager. That was not just due to an apparent lack of social graces, but for retrogressive politics that identified him as Deputy President for Mt Kenya rather than Deputy President of the Republic.
The aggression with which he pushed the “morima ” agenda rather than the national cause made him an easy target for those who rightfully were alarmed by appearances of a resurgent Mt Kenya nationalism driven by ethnic arrogance and a sense of entitlement. He became the target of sustained assault from politicians across political divides, united by a common cause—to resist political schemes by a community that has already produced three out of five presidents since independence.
Indeed, it was the need to halt Mr Gachagua, and by extension the threat of Mt Kenya political supremacy, which brought together President Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga. Even some of the “partyless, tribeless, leaderless” youth who led the Gen Z protests of last June—notably Kasmuel McOure who made his mark with unmatched eloquence and snappy dressing, and Morara Kebaso who documented on widely-watched videos the graft, waste and plunder of government projects—soon changed their tune from “Ruto Must Go” to the anti-Gachagua choir.
Even after impeachment, Mr Gachagua spent most of his time and energy pushing the “morima” cause. He made it clear that his search for a political vehicle was limited to one that would drive the region’s political destination rather than one in which all Kenyans would ride.
But in the process, his politics seem to have matured. He has evidently come to the realisation that Mt Kenya by itself cannot be the route to nirvana; and that the interests of the region are not only served by seeking the presidency. Mr Gachagua, like Mr Kenyatta before him, now recognises that the interests of a populous and powerful community are best served by working with other communities rather than by flexing population and economic muscle. That means putting presidential aspirations on hold and backing an aspirant from another community.
However, he must also realise that he cannot use that massive voter base to throw support behind a candidate he intends to dominate and control. He cannot, as he once unwisely put it, expect that Mt Kenya will be the principal shareholder in any coalition he throws his weight behind. He must not imagine that he will support Mr Musyoka, Dr Fred Matiang’i or anyone else, and if victorious, reduce them to puppets as he runs the show from behind the scenes.
Mr Gachagua’s Wamunyoro village has become the nerve centre of his political schemes and a magnet for politicians from far and wide seeking his support. We will see this week in the party to be unveiled whether he has outgrown the village into a leader who puts Kenya first.
