Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua shakes hands with Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro during a fundraiser in Kigumo, Murang’a County on February 10, 2024.
After much anticipation, Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro has finally announced that he will not be supporting the re-election of President William Ruto's government in 2027. However, he has not yet decided which faction of the Wantam movement he will formally join.
In an interview with NTV on Friday night, Mr Nyoro described the politics that brought President
Ruto and his United Democratic Alliance (UDA) to power in 2022 as “silly”.
"We fought people and attacked their personalities under the guise of winning power. Very silly
politics. But then I was younger; now I’m wiser,” he said.
Going forward, he said he wants to be known for political maturity and sensitivity, and for giving
both his words and actions careful consideration.
Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro.
Mr Nyoro, who has kept political pundits guessing about his next move, said that he is now “totally,
for the avoidance of doubt, fundamentally, objectively and concisely opposed to the policies of this government”.
However, he added that the exact manner in which he will pursue "an alternative hope and future for
the country" remains to be seen.
He said that he intends to base his political activities on national discourse in his role as a
legislator, while also paying attention to local issues as a Kiharu politician.
The Wantam movement currently includes a united opposition led by Rigathi Gachagua and Kalonzo
Musyoka. The Jubilee Party, led by former president Uhuru Kenyatta, is proposing former interior CS
Dr Fred Matiang’i as part of the alliance, though his candidacy is being contested.
There is also the Kenya Moja Alliance, led by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, which unites breakaway
factions from the Orange Democratic Movement and the ruling Kenya Kwanza Alliance.
Mr Nyoro cautioned against early alignments, saying, “It is not tactical wisdom to start aligning this early. There are nearly 20 months to the ballot and things will shift. All these parties you see around will not reach the 2027 ballot in their current form. Alignments and shifts will occur,” he said.
Despite adopting a wait-and-see approach, he insisted that his political relationship with President Ruto was beyond repair.
From left: Murang'a Governor Mwangi wa Iria, Deputy President William Ruto and Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro at Gaturi Primary School in 2018.
He accused the president of dishonesty and of presiding over a government riddled with incompetent — and, in some cases, dubious — policies.
Mr Nyoro cited a press interview that President Ruto gave on 1 April 2025 at State Lodge Sagana.
“Characteristic of him, he lied that he was mentoring me in politics. That irritated me greatly because that was the same time I was being hounded out of the Budget and Appropriations Committee chairmanship. How was he mentoring me while I was simultaneously being pushed out of office?” he asked.
He added that the manner in which he was removed from the powerful committee suggested the involvement of a higher and more powerful hand.
“The verbal attacks from allies of the President painted a picture of a powerful force working viciously to drag me through the mud for maximum political damage,” he said.
Nonetheless, Mr Nyoro said he does not intend to personalise politics and is content with where the current political climate has placed him.
He revealed that he last spoke to President Ruto when he was still chair of the Budget and Appropriations Committee but has recently spoken to Mr Gachagua.
“Mr Gachagua and I are friends,” he said. “Yes, we had uneasy moments when he was Deputy President, but he has remained my friend.”
That, however, does not mean President Ruto is his enemy.
“I will not make enemies. I want to be a role model—mature and issue-based—not a toxic person out to hurt others, even competitors. When I speak about Gachagua or the President, I do not want to hurt their family members,” he said.
Responding to claims that he was President Ruto’s “budget man,” Mr Nyoro said critics must compare the policies pursued then with those being implemented today.
He said he opposes uninformed and reckless borrowing, the use of statutory deductions to illegally fund infrastructure, plans to clandestinely sell public institutions and rising school fees.
The then DP William Ruto with Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro and Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria at a past event.
Political analysts now appear unanimous that Mr Nyoro’s alliance with President Ruto will not play out as it did in the run-up to the 2022 General Election.
“Listening to the series of interviews he has done, he appears conscious that pressure was mounting for him to declare his position in the current political terrain,” said Murang’a-based political commentator Mixson Warui.
Mr Warui said Mt Kenya voters appear disillusioned with President Ruto’s administration, a sentiment Mr Nyoro articulated clearly by speaking in the region’s political language.
“His interview can be summed up as that of a man aligning himself with the political mood of Mt Kenya while buying time to study emerging formations that best serve his ambitions,” Mr Warui said.
He likened Mr Nyoro’s trajectory to that of politician Peter Kenneth who contested the presidency in 2013 against prevailing Mt Kenya sentiment.
“Mr Kenneth was popular in Gatanga just as Mr Nyoro is in Kiharu. Both had strong development credentials. But Kenneth was punished even by the people he had served well,” he said.
Another analyst Festus Wangwe said Mr Nyoro appears to be on a political “factory reset”.
“He is re-evaluating his political fortunes and reassembling himself. The puzzle he is likely trying to solve is whether to defend his Kiharu seat to remain relevant as he observes how 2027 shapes up, given that age is on his side,” Mr Wangwe told Nation.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua (left) and President William Ruto. Inset: Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro.
Mr Wangwe added that Mr Nyoro could consider running for the Murang’a governorship noting that incumbent Dr Irungu Kang’ata is “known for not seeking second terms”.
Political analyst Samuel Wang’ombe described Mr Nyoro as presidential material.
“He has the advantage of age. At 40, he can afford to position himself for the presidency over the next 30 years,” he said.
Mr Wang’ombe added that Mr Nyoro could use the 2027 election to test his national appeal.
“It would be okay even if he flops. He would gain guiding data. Even Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta failed in their first attempts but later succeeded,” he said.
He noted that Mr Nyoro could also consider a running-mate position, possibly within Dr Matiang’i’s camp although that wing remains loose, unstructured, and burdened by a trust deficit.
Perhaps reflecting the complexity of his political calculations, Mr Nyoro told NTV, “Politics is an expansive world, and things can swiftly change. For now, I am observing, and at the opportune time I will appropriately pronounce myself on which terraces I will be battling from to realise an alternative governance order for this country.”
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