President William Ruto’s allies in the Mt Kenya region have devised a scheme to portray former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua as the region’s bogeyman in a last-ditch effort to weaken him and wrest the populous voting bloc from his grip.
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Key actors in the plan include Deputy President Kithure Kindiki , National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah, Laikipia East MP Mwangi Kiunjuri, and United Democratic Alliance (UDA) chairperson Cecily Mbarire.
Lined up are political programmes aimed at depicting Mr Gachagua as an isolationist, anti-development, corrupt, a security threat, and one who sanctioned the persecution of former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s family while in office.
Kibwezi West MP Mutuse Mwengi.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group
A new complementary voice in the plan is Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse, who tabled the Gachagua impeachment motion and has been appearing in Mt Kenya public forums to justify why the former Mathira MP “had to be thrown under the bus.”
In hyping anti-Gachagua sentiments linked to the Kenyatta family, the Ruto allies appear intent on widening the rift between the two politicians to prevent a possible reconciliation — a move that could complicate President Ruto’s fortunes in the region.
The ultimate goal, sources privy to the plan intimated, is to diminish Mr Gachagua’s influence ahead of 2027.
The short-term goal is to ensure the government-backed candidate wins the Mbeere North by-election in Embu County, scheduled for November 27, thereby proving to President Ruto that Gachagua’s influence is superficial.
UDA has fielded Leo Muthende, while Mr Gachagua is backing Democratic Party candidate Newton Karish.
Mr Gachagua, on his part, is leading a counteroffensive by confronting the narrative directly and has dispatched a team of loyalists to amplify his message.
“The scheme is simple. If Mt Kenya remains divided along Ruto, Uhuru and Gachagua lines, it will open up the region as a voting bloc of equal opportunity — more advantageous to the incumbent,” said political commentator and scholar Prof Peter Kagwanja.
The project is being pushed through vernacular TV and radio stations, blogs, indoor meetings, and public rallies outside the Mt Kenya region.
“The anti-Gachagua campaign is akin to the Biblical war against Prophet Jeremiah as captured in Jeremiah 18:18,” Kipipiri MP Wanjiku Muhia told the Nation.
Naivasha MP Jayne Kihara, another Gachagua ally, said the government is desperate because Mr Gachagua’s political star “has refused to dim.”
Naivasha MP Jayne Kihara.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Mr Kiunjuri, a Ruto ally, confirmed the battle lines are now drawn.
“We will now take the battle to Gachagua’s doorstep. Enough is enough,” said Mr Kiunjuri. “…no sane Mt Kenya voter will have a kind word for him — he will be the ultimate bogeyman with no influence in 2027.”
Mr Gachagua has been touring the region to consolidate the bloc ahead of 2027, framing himself as its political commander, before suspending his offensive following the death of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
President Ruto’s loyalists responded on October 13, launching a counter-campaign in Kirinyaga, warning Mr Gachagua against demeaning elected leaders.
A day later, Mr Gachagua returned and dismissed the protests as “meaningless, pretentious, and defeatist.”
Mr Ichung’wah has also warned that the Ruto brigade is now prepared to “expose Gachagua for what he is.”
Kirinyaga Senator Kamau Murango, however, insists the plan will backfire: “We will apply Boyle’s Gas Law: their hatred for Mr Gachagua will inversely increase our love for him.”
