President William Ruto's loyalists in Mt Kenya have devised new strategies in their bid to woo back the hostile but vote-rich region ahead of the 2027 elections.
On Saturday, the politicians held a series of meetings in hotels in Murang'a, Kirinyaga and Nyeri counties where they devised a two-pronged execution plan in their bid to stop the growing hostility against President Ruto in the region that overwhelmingly voted him in 2022.
One wing will be led by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki alongside Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wa and Information, Communications and the Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary William Kabogo. The other will be led by The Service Party leader and Laikipia East MP Mwangi Kiunjuri.
The team led by Prof Kindiki later congregated at Kimorori grounds in Maragua Constituency for an “economic empowerment” drive together with Mr Ichung'wa and Mr Kabogo. After the Kirinyaga meeting, Mr Kiunjuri and his team landed in Nyeri County, where they held further closed-door sessions at a local hotel.
"We have audited ourselves for the past three years and come to the conclusion that this is the ideal government for the Mt Kenya people and there is no need to agitate for a new one," Mr Kiunjuri said.
He added that "we have also looked at the events (surrounding the impeachment of former Deputy President) Rigathi Gachagua in October last year and come to a conclusion that it was justified".
But speaking in the United States where he is currently on a two-month tour, Mr Gachagua dismissed all efforts by President Ruto to win back the region’s support.
National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichungwah.
Photo credit: Jared Nataya | NMG
Insisting that “the Mt Kenya region is gone for good and nothing can change”, Mr Gachagua, addressing Dr Ruto, said: “You do your politics, I and the people of the mountain will do ours.”
“We are now at another level as a people and a region. We’ll craft alliances with other communities and regions to vote out President Ruto’s government and its collaborators," he said.
Mr Kiunjuri accused the former DP of "leading a crusade against President Ruto” by “inciting Mt Kenya voters". To stem the tide, Prof Kindiki, Mr Ichung'wa and Mr Kabogo have now announced that, going forward, there would be no further engagement with the opposition regarding public discussion of political issues.
"We will instead remain focused on telling our story and endearing ourselves (to the people) through service delivery while ignoring the rhetoric from the other group until that opportune moment when we shall engage about 2027," said Prof Kindiki.
The other item that Mr Kiunjuri highlighted was the need to engage voters at the ward level, including the youth.
"We will be addressing salient issues that affect our people, making their lives more difficult," Nyeri town MP Duncan Mathenge said.
Mr Kiunjuri disclosed that plans are underway to lobby for the abandonment of Kakamega Senator Bonny Khalwale's boda boda Bill "since it goes against our region’s interests".
Laikipia East MP Mwangi Kiunjuri.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Dr Khalwale's Bill proposes mandatory registration with county governments so as to obtain operating licences. All motorcycles will have a specific colour, apart from displaying registration number plates at both the front and rear. They will also be subject to annual inspections as public service vehicles.
Besides mandatory safety training, all operators will be required to register in cooperatives, while all boda boda owners will be compelled to sign employment contracts with their riders, with contravention of this attracting a Sh20,000 fine or six months’ imprisonment or both.
Opposing the Bill, Mr Kiunjuri said, "we were not consulted, and if Mr Khalwale will not withdraw it, we will ensure it falls flat on its face".
He added that "coffee farmers have refused the policy that seeks to compel them to receive their pay directly on their phones.”
"That too, alongside the high taxes imposed on small-scale importers per container, will be addressed," he said. On his part, Mr Ichung'wa said pro-Ruto politicians "will be concentrating more on telling our success stories rather than responding to diversionary noises".
The issue of how President Ruto’s administration communicates its achievements has become the subject of intense debate, especially in the Mt Kenya region.
Mwea MP Mary Maingi had, in a recent interview on Inooro TV, lamented that "the government has no competent way of communicating its success stories (and is constantly) being put on its defence by propagandists".
She posed: "Who defends this government? Where are the Mt Kenya cabinet members to tell the people that service delivery is on course?”
“So disjointed is its communication that we as its elected supporters have retreated to our constituencies to defend our service delivery track record as individuals," she added.
Prof Kindiki revealed that plans are underway to lure some opposition bigwigs to President Ruto's camp.
"We are also not abandoning those noise-makers. They are our fellow Kenyans. We will continue with efforts to bring them on board so that we can move together as one nation under one flag," he said.
"It is true we are pursuing Mr Kalonzo Musyoka , Dr Fred Matiang'i, Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya and DAP-Kenya party boss Eugene Wamalwa,” Mr Kiunjuri said.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and his allies during a church service at PCEA Emmanuel Matanya Church in Laikipia County on January 19, 2025.
Photo credit: Joseph Kanyi | Nation Media Group
Mr Kiunjuri added that "we have also launched a charm offensive targeting Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro, who, after being mentored politically by the President, is dancing on the periphery with no certainty of where he is headed".
"We in the Mt Kenya region have resolved to sanitise our politics and, among other issues, we will at all times keep families from our political wars, publicly disown hate speech and violence and embrace tolerance," Maragua MP Mary wa Maua said.
Mr Ichung'wa said President Ruto is planning another extensive visit of Mt Kenya "to reconnect, listen and escalate the development agenda". He said the visit might happen anytime starting next month.
