Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua (left) confers with Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka during the Consecration of Bishop Elect Benson Gathugu Kamau at Jesus Compassion Ministry Church in Ruiru Constituency, Kiambu County on June 21, 2024.
Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has launched a double political incursion targeting his own Ukambani bastion and Mt Kenya with the eventual plan for a declaration to include Kamba community as part of post-independence tribal grouping of Gikuyu, Embu, Meru Association (GEMA).
Mr Musyoka is seeking to exploit the current perceived disaffection against President William Ruto’s administration by the populous Mt Kenya region over failed pre-election promises grumbles about a plot to undermine Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua to endear himself to the region ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Mr Musyoka — who leads the disgruntled wing of the opposition Azimio coalition after four senior politicians from Mr Raila Odinga's ODM were appointed as Cabinet Secretaries in the Ruto administration — has since held a series of political engagements in Kiambu, Nyeri, Kirinyaga and Embu in the last couple of weeks.
This weekend, Mr Musyoka is scheduled to be in Embu and Kirinyaga again as he begins to change tact and chart a new political path with focus on winning the backing of the Mt Kenya region.
Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua, a close ally of Mr Musyoka, told Nation Africa that their immediate agenda is to rally the Ukambani bloc behind the former vice President and reunite the region with the larger Gikuyu, Embu, Meru Association (GEMA) — a controversial ethnic political and economic grouping that dates back to the Jomo Kenyatta era.
He revealed plans for a political jamboree for the declaration.
“Very soon there is going to be a big ceremony to return the river back to its course. We have been separated from our brothers and sisters for a slaughter. It is time we went back and reclaim our rightful position,” said Mr Wambua.
“We shall wage whatever battle to ensure we occupy our rightful position and get our fair share of resources. We have started bonding with our brothers from the mountain and the country will be witnessing more of it,” said the Senator.
Former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu, who has become a constant figure in some of Mr Musyoka’s trips to Mt Kenya, confirmed that there were plans to make Kamba community as part of GEMA.
He described Mr Musyoka as a politician with a clean track record, citing economic growth during President Mwai Kibaki’s regime, where Mr Musyoka served as a Vice President between 2008 to 2013.
“We want to have the old GEMA by including the Kamba. Our immediate plan is to have the communities speak one language politically ahead of the next elections,” said Mr Waititu.
Mr Gachagua also said, during a televised interview last week that Mr Musyoka has not wronged the region. He has also been openly pushing to have the Ukambani community as part of GEMA.
Machakos Deputy Governor Francis Mwangangi described Mr Musyoka as a national leader who has political networks across the country. He said the plan is to unite his bastion while reactivating his old networks in all parts of the country, including the populous Mt Kenya region.
“As a presidential contender in the 2027 General Election, he has to first unite his region before going out to seek the support of other regions. He has also made it clear that he will stand with the youths, who have complained about how the country is being governed,” said Mr Mwangangi.
Allies of Mr Musyoka are upbeat after some of the allies of President William Ruto in Ukambani started showing signs of warming up to the former vice president ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Mr Musyoka is reportedly in talks with six politicians in the region who had either contested various seats on United Democratic Alliance (UDA) tickets in the 2022 General Election or had openly identified with the Head of State after he assumed office.
Many of President Ruto's allies in Kitui, Machakos and Makueni counties have assumed a wait-and-see approach to politics citing uncertainty in the political scene in the wake of the shakeup of the Kenya Kwanza administration.
"Ukambani is fully locked behind Mr Musyoka. That is why we have spread wings to other regions across the country. In the coming days you will rarely see us campaign in Ukambani. Those who were on the other side are now trooping back home," Makueni Senator Daniel Maanzo told Sunday Nation.
The veteran politician was referring to an apparent change of heart by a team of Musyoka's critics in the region. The recent shakeup in the national political scene with Azimio leader Raila Odinga warming up to President Ruto has fuelled the apparent change of heart among some of President Ruto's allies in Ukambani.
Member of the Parliamentary Service Commission and former UDA chairman Johnson Muthama leads a pack of President Ruto's allies in Ukambani counties which has not missed a chance to indicate willingness to work Mr Musyoka, their erstwhile political rival.
In an apparent endorsement of Mr Musyoka’s presidential ambition, Mr Muthama says the Ukambani region has what it takes to produce a head of state as it is associated with producing many outstanding leaders. The vocal politician has maintained a meeting to unite Kamba leaders he announced in June was still in the offing. It was scheduled for July.
"The Kamba unity meeting was disrupted by the protests which rocked the country. Since I am on the government side, I decided to delay it to avoid creating the impression that we are celebrating when the President is in trouble and the country is experiencing bloodshed. The meeting is still on,” Mr Muthama said when he joined Mr Musyoka and former Kitui Senator David Musila during the burial of Bishop Titus Kivunzi at Winzyeei in Kitui County last week. He rallied clerics behind the Kamba unity talks.
“We all need to come together and ask ourselves why the Kamba community is undermined. For instance, if you look at what has just happened in Kenya, we have been side-lined [in the distribution of cabinet secretary positions] yet we pay taxes like all other Kenyans,” Mr Muthama added.
Mr Maanzo confirmed that Mr Musyoka's allies were in talks with Mr Muthama with a view of uniting the region.
Whereas Mr Muthama insists the plan is to put the community's close to 2 million votes in one basket to enhance its bargaining power on national politics, Mr Maanzo says the primary intention of the unity bid is to back Mr Musyoka's 2027 presidential ambition.
"We are setting up an organising committee for the Kamba leaders unity meeting. The committee will be composed not only of the political class but also the clergy, elders and the youth," Mr Maanzo told Nation Africa.
Although President Ruto has renewed his pledges for roads, water and electricity projects on July 12 when he met eight Ukambani MPs who identify with the Kenya Kwanza administration to shore up his grip of the region after withdrawing the Finance Bill 2024 in the wake of anti-tax protests, Mr Musyoka's shadow has continued to loom large in the region.
Allies of the former vice president are hoping to ride on the disgruntlement facing President Ruto following the shakeup up on his administration to grow Mr Musyoka's national appeal ahead of the 2027 General Election. This explains Mr Musyoka's increased recent inroads in the vote-rich Mount Kenya region.
"Many Kenyans are unhappy with the move taken by Mr Odinga. By working with President Ruto, the Azimio leader has betrayed the Kamba community which has been supporting him for many years by betraying a deal with Mr Musyoka. We shall rally behind Mr Musyoka's presidential bid," Mr Mwangangi, the Machakos deputy governor, told Sunday Nation.
This comes at a time opinion on Mr Musyoka's real chances of beating President Ruto in a presidential duel is sharply divided even as the Ukambani political kingpin maintains that he will not work with President Ruto.
The time for those with money is gone. Time has come for natural leaders to emerge," he said on Friday. Whereas Mr Musyoka's allies believe he has what it takes to send President Ruto home, some analysts contend Mr Musyoka is overambitious especially considering President Ruto's dalliance with Mr Odinga.
"As of now, with the coalition that President Ruto has established, he will lead if elections were to be held today between him and Mr Musyoka.
Although Mount Kenya region might move with Mr Musyoka considering the undercurrents there, it is not enough. He needs to court other regions which are dissatisfied with President Ruto now and before the 2027 General Election. If he does so we might be in for another 2007 scenario in which the incumbent barely scraped through," said Teddy Munovi, a political analyst.
