One was hounded out of office to create room for the other, sparking a political storm that is playing out in the Mbeere North constituency by-election contest.
In what is shaping up as the battle of the deputies, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki who replaced Mr Rigathi Gachagua after the latter was impeached in October last year, has vowed to teach his predecessor “a political lesson he will never forget”.
Mr Gachagua, on his part, says he is rooting for the voters to humiliate the government, telling Prof Kindiki that he will not force a leader down the throats of Mbeere North residents.
Prof Kindiki stormed Siakago town on Monday evening and promised Mr Gachagua a “contest never seen before,” vowing to camp in the area until November 28, when he “will take UDA candidate Leo Muthende to Nairobi to be sworn in as the new MP.”
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki during a campaign rally in Mbeere North on November 17, 2025.
Photo credit: DPCS
The DP told Mr Gachagua and his allies to tell the people of Mbeere North how they would benefit and the development projects they were planning for the people, instead of propagating lies.
He went on: “They have come here with the usual insults and pride. Let them listen to me carefully. I will face them in this contest and they will know what we’re capable of doing. We also demand that they should respect leaders in Embu County and stop the insults. They should know that Embu has it’s leaders who have been here all those years,” the DP said. He added: “To Muthende, my message is that you have full support of the government and President Ruto is fully behind you because we understand the needs of Mbeere North people and we will not let you down,” Prof Kindiki told the crowd.
The leaders have kicked off door-to-door campaigns, each aiming to win voters to their side, even as security officers were deployed in the North as tension mounted in the area following intensified counter accusations with each camp claiming rivals were planning violence.
Both the opposition led by Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua and the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) camps have accused each other of plotting to cause chaos during campaigns. Mr Gachagua arrived in the constituency on Sunday and is campaigning for the United Opposition candidate Mr Newton Kariuki, popularly known as Karish, who is flying former AG Justin Muturi’s Democratic Party ticket.
There is stiff competition with each of the camps campaigning in the same venues with UDA adopting a strategy of raiding areas where opposition has been campaigning, a move that has angered the opposition who accused UDA of trying to provoke them.
“UDA politicians are following us where we are campaigning, they want to provoke us but we shall remain peaceful,” said the Manyatta MP Gitonga Mukunji.
On Sunday, UDA officials, led by Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku campaigned in all the areas where Gachagua and his colleagues visited and drummed up support for Democratic Party (DP) candidate, Newton Kariuki. At Kanyuambora, the opposition supporters and those of UDA clashed, but security officers quickly intervened, preventing the eruption of chaos. Mr Gachagua claims that UDA is mobilising goons to disrupt the campaigns of their allies after sensing defeat, an accusation the UDA has also levelled against the opposition. “We are aware of what is happening but we shall not be discouraged,” said Mr Gachagua.
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and former DP Rigathi Gachagua.
Photo credit: File | Nation
Nationally, battle lines have been drawn in Kasipul constituency in Homa Bay county, Mbeere North (Embu), Malava in Kakamega county, Banisa (Mandera), Magarini in Kilifi county and Baringo county senate seat.
There are several ward elections being held in various parts of the county in the November 27 by elections billed as a test for President William Ruto’s administration. While President Ruto wants to prove that his administration has sway across the country, the opposition is intent on puncturing the President's popularity in a country polarised by discontent among the citizens over rising taxation, high cost of living and human rights abuses. In Nyamira County, the elections promise to be a centre of national political interest as the three civic by-elections are seen as a litmus test between former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i and President Ruto’s standing in Gusii politics ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Already, battle lines have been drawn between the ruling UDA on one hand and the parties associated with Jubilee on the other in the ongoing civic campaigns, with foot soldiers for the two principals—Matiang’i and Ruto—trying to outdo one another.
DCP leader Rigathi Gachagua campaigns for Mbeere North parliamentary candidate Newton Kariuki at Kanyuambora Trading Centre on November 16, 2025.
Photo credit: Joseph Kanyi | Nation Media Group
During a recent campaign, South Mugirango MP Silvanus Osoro, who is leading the Kenya Kwanza/UDA campaign, raised eyebrows after he promised the party’s supporters that the government had unbeatable machinery to use “other means” to ensure the party’s candidate prevailed.
“You know, we know how to take care of votes. You should also know that we have experts who know how to make things straight, including scoring the winning goal using the hand…a win is a win, even if it was scored using crooked means…don’t you know that we have scientists who will help us score the winning goal using, you know us well, right?” said Mr Osoro.
The alleged “scientific method” of winning and also “scoring the winning goal using the hand” has rattled the Jubilee side, who interpret the “wins” as rigging.
Mr Osoro also told various campaign rallies in the region that his party—Kenya Kwanza—knows “obokarakari” (crooked) ways to bring the win home even if the candidate was not as popular. Political observers believe that the outcome of the elections will determine whether Dr Matiang’i will stamp his authority as the indisputable Gusii kingpin or whether Dr Ruto will have the last laugh.
“We, who support the government of the day, are doing so because that is where we are seeking development for you. We cannot mislead you to follow promises of future development because no one knows what the future holds,” declared Mr Osoro while campaigning for the UDA/Kenya Kwanza candidates in the three wards of Ekerenyo, Nyamaiya, and Nyansiongo. Mr Osoro, the National Assembly Majority Whip and who is leading the UDA battalion against candidates associated with Jubilee, where Dr Matiang’i is now the Deputy Party Leader, pointed out that anyone fighting the sitting government risks isolating the people from development.
“For those who are being told to reject the government, you are being misled because there is no alternative. If you reject the government based on mere expectations of a non-existent government, that is like licking an empty hand,” said Mr Osoro, who was accompanied by the party’s National Treasurer and Kitutu Chache North MP, Japheth Nyakundi.
Reporting by Gitonga Marete, Ruth Mbula and George Munene
