Main picture: Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. Inset: (from left): Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, Embu governor Cecily Mbarire, Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro, Kirinyaga governor Anne Waiguru and Laikipia East MP Mwangi Kiunjuri.
As the political restlessness in the Mountain region reaches fever pitch, area strategists are exploring 2027 options, even as Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua fights impeachment motion.
The ground continues to harden against President William Ruto's presidency hence proposals of three possible points of engagement ahead of 2027 General Election.
The options are: stick with Ruto and re-bargain, abandon Ruto and pursue alternative alliances-- prime targets being Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka, George Natembeya and Eugene Wamalwa--or form own political party and target to form government or pursue a post-election coalition.
A split around Mr Gachagua and former President Uhuru Kenyatta as its kingpin and President Ruto loyalists preferring working with Interior CS Kithure Kindiki has plunged the region in a leadership crisis.
"With the same President Ruto loyalists by every dawn posturing clearly that they are not ready to work with Gachagua regardless of the outcome of the impeachment process, the urgency of holding together as the single biggest voting block becomes a matter of life and death," says Kikuyu Council of elders Chairman Mr Wachira Kiago.
Mr Kiago said politics in its contemporary context is like a war and the region has no choice but to keep updating its combat strategy, deploy relevant engagements' competencies as well as keep focused on victory but not defeat ahead of 2027.
"Every day in politics is a battlefront. The president comes first from a community that seeks support of some communities to win so that he or she can start living by the constitution that demands becoming symbol of national unity," Mr Kiago said.
He said "our reality of political contest is that none is bound by the constitution to be the symbol of national unity hence why Mt Kenya will go ahead and unleash its symbol of community unity who will participate fully in the fight for our interests now and in the near future".
Nation has reliably been tipped that actors in Gachagua and Kenyatta wings have closed ranks and have been meeting and have since released the three options as working points.
"The key options cited and which are cause for intense debate are sticking with President Ruto but bargain on how to relate for the next eight years when he will have served the constitutional two terms or search for an alternative presidential aspirant to back in 2027," says a member of the working group, Ms Gladys Njoroge.
Ms Njoroge who is the National Congress Alliance's Youth leader said "the complexities in navigating the two options are bred in realities that there is a raging wave of hostility against the president Ruto rule in the Mountain".
She added that it is possible for now to come out clearly on an alternative presidential aspirant "since again we feel that it is not wise to launch a full scale war with President Ruto government this early".
She said the latest meeting of October 2, 2024 in Kirinyaga County decided that "our action plan will keep on getting updated as per the happenings in the government especially regarding Gachagua impeachment and how our people will embrace those president Ruto is fronting as his new trustees in the Mountain".
She revealed that for now the Mt Kenya region is mostly focusing its launching pad voting block to include Uasin Gishu, Murang'a, Kiambu, Lamu, Nyeri, Nairobi, Nakuru, Kirinyaga, Kajiado, Laikipia, Nyandarua, Embu, Meru and Tharaka Nithi.
"Those are the regions where we have a significant presence and politics being a game of numbers, building of loyalties and it being local, we must keep cognisant of where we can get those localised and loyal numbers which our detractors refer to as tribalism," she said.
However, she added that pending emergency alliances have since been identified as Nyanza led by Raila Odinga, Eastern led by Kalonzo Musyoka or Western led by George Natembeya or Eugene Wamalwa.
Both Mr Natembeya and Mr Wamalwa confirmed to Nation.Africa of being privy to the plans.
"It is okay, we are in constant talks with our Mountain people and others...Where the country unites in pursuit of stability and prosperity is where you will find Natembeya. Where we are improving people's lives through sensible governance is where and what we owe our people," Mr Natembeya said.
Mr Wamalwa said "together with Kalonzo and our Mt Kenya people we are dealing...The only person we are not working with is Ruto only...unless he will come to support us, not us supporting him".
In that scenario, it emerges that the Mountain remains at crossroads on whether to support Ruto or exit to found an alternative formation.
Own candidate
"It is in the debate about who to support in 2027 that firm regionalists in the team are toying with the idea of the Mountain fronting its own candidate, vote enmasse for him or her and should the candidate not win, push for a handshake with the winner," says Jubilee Party Chairman in Kirinyaga County, Mr Muriithi Kang'ara.
He said that should it become clear that President Ruto will not be needing the Mountain as his reelection partner, or picks a running mate from this region who will not be acceptable "it will be our inalienable duty to respond in kind and front what can offer us satisfaction".
Mr Kang'ara said that "this idea of a Mt Kenya candidate is winning ground support since there is an argument that we gave President Ruto 87 percent of our votes where he drew 47 percent of his authority but is seen to use our might to fight and isolate us".
He said there is a raging feeling that "we should stay with our votes and authority, place the two on one of our own in the philosophy that a domesticated ogre that smells like us cannot devour us as savagely as that from the outside".
Jubilee Party Secretary General Mr Jeremiah Kioni said "the only confusion about where to be is emanating from Gachagua since he is the only forcing himself to President Ruto.
"He has been accorded all forms of humiliations and is on the verge of getting kicked out but is still insisting that he is uniting the mountain to rally behind his tormentors in 2027. He needs to stop confusing us," said Mr Kioni.
The group has also cited identification of a political party for 2027 contest or alliance making, negotiation for the restructuring of the Deputy President's office to clearly define its role as a strong principal assistant to the president, lobby for the office of the prime cabinet slot which can change to that of the Prime Minister should the country go to a referendum.
Kangema MP Peter Kihungi said Mt Kenya did a great mistake of walking into government without a political party.
"Never again should that happen. We must not be in UDA come 2027...We for the first time went into an election without a political party," he said.
Mr Kihungi added that "I must first apologise to our people for being part of that mistake...We broke the norm that had been started in 1920 by Harry Thuku. That is why even Gachagua is being targeted for impeachment since he lacks a party to manage our numbers".
Mr Kihungi said "come rain come sunshine, Mt Kenya must never repeat that mistake again and for that reason we must come up with our contest and bargaining vehicle so that we can establish that command base for pursuing our interests".
The Kiama Kia Ma vice chairman Mr Njoroge Mugo said "it is urgent that we now come out from the shadows of tactical silence to speak out against the obvious acts of aggression against our critical community interests".
Mr Mugo said "acts of aggression that are being hurled the Mountain way every dawn must be responded to".
He said that the aggressions are packaged in schemes to divide and isolate the mountain, infiltrate it through establishment of stooge leadership as well as ensure its voting might is fragmented.
Mr Kioni told Nation.Africa that "what we are witnessing in Mt Kenya is presidential conmanship where after riding on our people's backs into power, he has found new friends and believes he can discard or blackmail us and still survive 2027".
Mr Kioni said "that is the tragic scheme by President Ruto that we must stop from being actualised...he must get defeated in 2027".
Mr Kioni said "that is the reason why we are busy establishing the ideal combination to take him head on and ensure we send him home".
Mr Kioni added that "our Mt Kenya kingpin who is former president Uhuru Kenyatta is in contact communication with us and I can tell you that he sympathises with our people for being recipients of all the negative governance nightmare that he had in vain, warned us against".
For that reason, Mr Kioni added, "we must have a Mt Kenya party that will unite with others apart from Dr Ruto, and contest the presidency as a better, stronger and committed formation".
The options:
1. Stick with Ruto and re-bargain
2. Abandon Ruto and pursue alternative alliances
3. Form own political party and target post-election coalition
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