The battle for political influence in Mt Kenya took a new turn on Saturday after a section of elders from the region endorsed Deputy President Kithure Kindiki as their spokesman and called for unity behind President William Ruto.
The endorsement was made at the historic Kirigiti Stadium in Kiambu County, where elders from the Gikuyu, Embu and Meru communities gathered for a meeting aimed at restoring unity in a region whose political loyalties have come under strain ahead of the 2027 General Election.
In a declaration signed by representatives of Kiama Kia Ma, Kikuyu Council of Elders, Njuri Ncheke, Kiama Kia Muembu, Ngome and Nyangi Ndiriri, the elders said Prof Kindiki would represent and advance the interests and aspirations of the Mt Kenya region.
“We hereby endorse and mandate Prof Kithure Kindiki to serve as our spokesperson and representative in advancing the interests and aspirations of the Mount Kenya Region,” the elders said.
The elders also endorsed the Ruto-Kindiki administration, saying the two leaders had contributed to development in the region, particularly in infrastructure and agriculture.
They singled out investments in coffee, dairy and tea, sectors that remain important to the livelihoods of millions of people in the region.
“We affirm our support to President William Ruto and Deputy President Prof Kithure Kindiki in their efforts to promote peace, development, economic growth and prosperity for our people and for the nation as a whole,” they declared.
“As President William Ruto’s helper in uniting Kenya and moving our country forward, I will continue to defend and represent the interests of our region of Mount Kenya,” said Prof Kindiki.
The meeting was also marked by a cultural ceremony in which Prof Kindiki was endorsed and handed instruments of power by the elders.
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki during the solemn assembly of Mt Kenya Elders at Kirigiti Stadium, Kiambu County.
Photo credit: DPCS
Three reconciliation goats were shared, one each for the Gikuyu, Embu and Meru communities, in a symbolic gesture intended to reinforce the message that the mountain should remain united.
The axe, which had become a symbol of the campaign to split Mt Kenya into East and West, was also returned to the elders.
But former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, an ardent critic of the Ruto administration and self-styled Mt Kenya political supremo, was quick to dismiss the event, terming it a futile move and urging the elders to give back the axe to Prof Kindiki and Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku to hand it to Dr Ruto.
“Mr Kithure Kindiki and Mr Geoffrey Kiringa Ruku have thrown in the towel, not because they want the unity of the mountain, but because they have miserably failed,” said Mr Gachagua.
He added: “Having failed to divide Mt Kenya into the imaginary West and East, the mountaineers are aware of new efforts to divide the former Central Province. This too will fail. Our people are too intelligent to fall for such innuendos,” Mr Gachagua said.
Saturday’s declaration by the elders placed considerable emphasis on unity, recalling the historical, social, economic and cultural ties binding the Mt Kenya communities.
The elders said political divisions, ethnic stereotyping and internal rivalry could undermine social cohesion, economic wellbeing and the region’s future prosperity.
They also invoked the region’s history of supporting national leadership, listing the administrations of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta, as well as the support given to former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua when he was President Ruto’s running mate in 2022.
“I salute our elders. We have been one community in matters of politics, business and culture. Why should we be divided by political differences now?” the DP said.
He added: “It does not matter whether a leader comes from Nyeri, Kiambu or anywhere else; we have been together, and we have to safeguard our unity.”
The elders described Prof Kindiki as the latest senior leader from the region to occupy the country’s second-highest office and as the bearer of Mt Kenya’s political aspirations.
They further called on the region’s communities to participate in peaceful political activities and provide President Ruto and Prof Kindiki with what they described as a conducive political environment in pursuit of Kenya’s long-term national interests.
The resolution represents a significant development in the contest over the political direction of Mt Kenya, particularly as competing groups seek to influence the region ahead of the 2027 election.
The initiative began with an August 15 meeting at Nembure Grounds in Embu County, where councils of elders from the eastern side of the mountain resolved to engage their counterparts in Kiambu, Murang’a, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Nyandarua, Laikipia, Nakuru and parts of Nairobi.
The consultations were intended to build a common political, social and economic agenda for the region.
The elders from Mt Kenya East argued that the region had historically acted as a single political bloc and that the eastern side had repeatedly supported presidential and vice-presidential bids originating from Mt Kenya West.
They cited the administrations of Jomo Kenyatta, Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta, as well as their support for Mr Gachagua in 2022.
Their argument was that the political support should now work in the opposite direction, with the western side backing Prof Kindiki.
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki during the solemn assembly of Mt. Kenya Elders at Kirigiti Stadium, Kiambu County.
The issue had also fuelled a campaign by Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku to divide the mountain into East and West.
Prof Kindiki had previously urged Mr Ruku to allow the elders to complete their consultations rather than pursue the split.
“We should be patient and give our elders a chance to engage in dialogue with their fellow elders from other regions of Mount Kenya,” Prof Kindiki said at the Nembure meeting.
Mr Ruku had tied his willingness to abandon the campaign to recognition of Prof Kindiki as the spokesman of the wider region by elders from the West.
Saturday’s declaration effectively met that demand, with the elders formally mandating Prof Kindiki to speak for the region.
The political significance of the declaration, however, extends beyond the question of regional unity.
It places the elders’ initiative directly against Mr Gachagua’s political strategy as he seeks to maintain his influence in the region.
The former Deputy President has maintained that the Ruto administration betrayed Mt Kenya following the political fallout that culminated in his removal from office in October 2024.
He has also argued that the region should support the opposition and help kick out President Ruto in 2027.
Mr Gachagua has maintained that Prof Kindiki’s elevation to the Deputy Presidency does not alter his position.
“Appointing another person from Mt Kenya to the Deputy President’s office cannot erase what we regard as the administration’s betrayal of the region,” he has said.
That leaves the elders’ declaration as an important counter-narrative to the former Deputy President’s efforts to rally the region around opposition to the Ruto administration.
The Ruto-Kindiki camp has increasingly placed emphasis on elders, grassroots mobilisation and development projects as it seeks to rebuild political support in the region.
The elders’ endorsement now gives that effort a cultural and political platform, although, analysts say, the extent to which it translates into support at the ballot will depend on how the competing political campaigns evolve before 2027.
Beyond politics, the elders used the gathering to highlight social and economic concerns affecting Mt Kenya.
Among the issues expected to feature in their engagements with the government are rising cases of alcoholism and the proliferation of illicit and substandard alcoholic drinks.
Political violence and the mobilisation of young people and goons during political confrontations are also concerns the elders have raised.
In attendance at the gathering were DP Kindiki and Cabinet Secretaries Ruku, William Kabogo (ICT) and Eric Mugaa (Water), who joined the elders and other leaders in the consultations on the region’s political direction.
The meeting also brought together MPs Machua Waithaka (Kiambu Town), Dancun Mathenge (Nyeri Town), Leo Wamuthende (Mbeere North), Patrick Munene (Chuka Igambang’ombe) and George Murugara (Tharaka), alongside Senators Mwenda Gataya (Tharaka Nithi) and Alexander Mundigi (Embu).
