President William Ruto inspects a cabbage farm at Maragua Ridge in Murang’a County after commissioning the Maragua Ridge Irrigation Development Project on April 3, 2025.
President William Ruto yesterday welcomed back Maragua MP Mary Wamaua to his fold after she defected from former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s camp.
This marks a significant political gain for the President, who has been losing allies and influence in the vote-rich Mount Kenya region, which gave him approximately four million votes in 2022.
It has been only three months since Kangema MP Peter Kihungi made a U-turn and defected from Gachagua’s camp back to the President’s side.
Although President Ruto recently lost Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro - who has since been removed as chair of the powerful Budget and Appropriations Committee in the National Assembly - he still commands the loyalty of the majority of elected leaders in the region.
Mr Nyoro has since severed ties with the President and appears to have forged a working relationship with Mr Gachagua.
When President Ruto on Sunday claimed he had been sponsoring and mentoring Mr Nyoro in politics, the Kiharu MP’s allies responded with outrage.
They distanced Mr Nyoro from the President’s political fold and even branded the Head of State a liar after he alleged that Mr Gachagua had demanded Sh10 billion from the exchequer to prevent him from serving only one term.
Speaking during the President’s tour at Maragua Ridge, Ms Maua acknowledged that Mr Gachagua’s attempted impeachment in November last year had negatively impacted the President’s popularity.
“But that was only a slip… it was not a fall as such. I want to confess that I have been in talks with Deputy President Kithure Kindiki since November and with the President since December last year,” she stated.
Ms Maua added, “Where you go, I will go. Your people shall be my people… your President will be my President.”
During his tour of Murang’a yesterday, President Ruto reaffirmed his support among key local leaders, including Governor Irungu Kang’ata, Woman Representative Betty Maina, Mathioya MP Edwin Mugo, nominated MP Sabina Chege, and nominated Senator Veronica Maina.
Conversely, Mr Gachagua enjoys the backing of Senator Joe Nyutu, Kigumo MP Joseph Munyoro, and Gatanga MP Edward Muriu, while Kandara MP Chege Njuguna has remained non-committal.
On his six-day development tour of the Mount Kenya region, the President made a passionate appeal to residents, stating, “I have established a friendship with you since 2013. Do not cast me away over petty matters.”
Ms Maua urged those still aligned with Mr Gachagua to reconsider their stance and rejoin the government.
“I call upon all those willing - unless they are unwilling - to come back home,” she said.
Meanwhile, a faction of Mount Kenya leaders has vowed to defy Mr Gachagua and support President Ruto’s re-election bid in 2027.
Laikipia East MP Mwangi Kiunjuri dismissed speculation about confusion within the region, stating, “We are not fools, we are not confused, and come 2027, we know where our region is safest.”
Speaking at Karugia Market, Mr Kiunjuri added: “We are happy that the President has not sidelined us from his development agenda despite the grave provocation by Mr Gachagua.”
Murang’a Woman Representative Betty Maina referenced the nickname Kasongo that netizens have given the President.
“We are moving forward with Kasongo until 2032. We are not fools; we know which cow is productive and will benefit us. We will not be distracted - we stand with the President for an uninterrupted ten years,” she declared.
Peddling fear
Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wa, who had earlier been booed in Nyandarua County, dismissed Mr Gachagua as a leader peddling fear.
He accused the Deputy President of surrounding himself with individuals like Nyandarua Senator John Methu, whom he mocked for “never shaving his hair.”
“We, in the President’s camp, will not buy into fear. We will shave the unkempt and dehorn those who have horns,” Mr Ichung’wa declared.
Ms Maina argued that Mr Gachagua could not dictate Mount Kenya’s political direction, as he plans to do in May by launching the Mountain Party.
“Mount Kenya voters will shepherd themselves, and they are resolute - it is Ruto all the way to 2032,” she asserted.
Mr Kihungi told the President that Mount Kenya would rally behind him but also made an unusual plea: “Mr President, give us Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officers to help our farmers deal with vervet monkeys.”
“In Kangema, vervet monkeys are even beating up our women,” he added.
The President promised him that assistance would be provided
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