Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua addresses residents of Mauche during the memorial and thanksgiving service of David Chepkwony, the late husband to Njoro MP Charity Kathambi on August 17, 2024.
As 2027 General Election realignments start taking shape, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s allies in Mt Kenya now want a constitutional change to abolish the 50-percent-plus-one requirement to win a presidential election.
During a meeting on Sunday night at a hotel in the outskirts of Thika town, those present, including some MPs, suggested that the winner should be declared after a simple majority. But that to form a government, a threshold of 60 percent of total votes cast be imposed, which would require the president-elect to reach out to other competitors to forge a broad coalition government.
That way, they argue, inclusivity in a subsequent post-election government of national unity would have been guaranteed hence resolving the winner-take-all headache blamed for post-poll conflict.
It will also discourage forced sharing of power – handshakes between incumbent and opposition – that the country has resorted to resolve post-election crisis after disputed outcomes of the presidential vote.
The handshake was witnessed in 2008 (President Mwai Kibaki- Prime Minister Raila Odinga), 2018 (President Uhuru Kenyatta- Mr Odinga) and the latest deal between President Ruto and Mr Odinga.
Premier post
The Mt Kenya leaders are proposing the reintroduction of the post of Prime Minister to expand the executive seats and formal roles for the opposition to make it attractive to the other presidential candidates that secure the other 40 percent.
The fear that is gluing Mt Kenya region is the perception that President Ruto and Mr Odinga, who are now partners in the so -called broad-based government, are setting the country into a trend reminiscent of one-party rule.
Mr Gachagua's political aide Ngunjiri Wambugu told Nation.Africa: "Despite my boss not attending the Thika meeting, his spirit was there since everywhere our people are meeting to cement unity and identity, that is where his heart is.”
Mr Wambugu added: "As long as the meetings are not being held to fight anyone but to strategise on how we will make our decisions in a cohesive way, be focused on what we want and only trust those who are ready to help us get to that roadmap, my boss will firmly be there.”
The conveners of the meeting argued that the country is becoming more volatile with each General Election, and to escape the now confirmed pattern that the winners and losers will always be neck and neck, hence the unwritten law for the government and opposition to subsequently share power, that outcome be regularised.
Advocate of the High Court Mwangi Kariuki, who took minutes of the caucus, revealed to Nation.Africa that "the meeting was among many consultative others going on with two core agendas: Mt Kenya unity and the region versus political relevance for 2027 and 2032".
Mr Kariuki said what was debated was a proposal that the referendum must put opposition at not less than 40 percent, saying anytime the government and opposition have come together in politics of handshake, Kenyans have suffered conspiracy of oppression.
"Mt Kenya is unanimous that the current scenario is where losers use violence to enter government. Instead of waiting for innocent people to suffer livelihood closures, police brutality and uncertainty, we want to make joining government even after losing the vote smooth," he added.
The thrust of the meeting was strategising on the way forward in the face of fears that Mt Kenya's interests are threatened in improvised handshakes as way of joining government.
"The fear is that Mt Kenya votes have been used to help winners but instead of winner-take-all democracy, the losers unleash violence and the winners are forced to cede some of their authority to bribe for environment that ends up as a co-rule,” he argued.
Article 138 (4) of the Constitution requires for a candidate to be declared elected as President, the winner must garner more than half of all the votes cast in the election; and at least 25 per cent of the votes cast in each of more than half of the counties.
This requirement was imposed to ensure the president-elect secures broad support nationally. It was meant to cure instances like during the Kanu era when President Moi twice in 1992 and 1997 retained the presidency with a fraction of the national vote although the combined opposition candidates had the overwhelming vote.
Series of meetings
Naivasha MP Jayne Kihara confirmed attending several meetings including that on Sunday.
"We have all come together as like-minded strategists. We will keep on broadening the brainstorming sessions. Most importantly is that we will heavily incorporate our Gen Z in the meetings. We want to move together as a solid and composite formation," Ms Kihara said.
She said such meetings helped Dr Ruto penetrate Mt Kenya region and withstand the opposition that then President Kenyatta had mounted against him in the lead-up to the 2022 elections.
"The pro-Dr Ruto meetings used to happen in my house in Naivasha where Mr Gachagua, Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro, Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung'wa, former Public Service CS Moses Kuria, current Housing CS Alice Wahome and I were the ones who led strategy to defy President Kenyatta in the mountain," she explained.
She said: "This time round we will not allow anyone to infiltrate us. We are not interested in who wins the presidency, rather we are interested in what becomes of our votes that must the be delivered in one basket in favour of one candidate and if that candidate loses or wins, we negotiate on irreducible minimum benefits for our region.”
According to former Gatanga MP Mr Nduati Ngugi who said he represented the interests of the formation that pledges loyalty to Mr Kenyatta, "our coming together is informed by strong fears that 2027 and 2032 might not leave us in good stead".
Mr Ngugi confirmed that their intelligence from President Ruto's government is that soon there will be launched a constitutional debate moment that might give rise to a national conference to psyche the country for a plebiscite.
"We have leaks that suggest that already the President's inner circle and Mr Odinga's have even started compiling what they want to jointly endorse and since we in Mt Kenya are being treated as outsiders, we will surprise them by being there more ready for a referendum than they will be," he said.
He said that the Sunday meeting had 36 participants who represented the interests of various actors of electoral politics.
"Mr Kenyatta has since briefed us that he stands for what will make the country more stable, secure and with hope of achieving better life for all," he said.
He said Mr Kenyatta feels disturbed by the continued citation of his name in sectarian positions of certain politicians in search of achieving selfish ends.
Kirinyaga Jubilee Chairman Mr Muriithi Kang'ara said "the meeting is among the many that we will continue holding so that we do not reach 2027 confused and vulnerable to the grave mistakes we did in 2022".
He said key agenda of the meeting was to instill a sense of urgency among Mt Kenya actors that the time to unite and calculate for 2027 is now.
"You will be surprised by the ground we have covered. You are asking about that Sunday meeting when we have had about 10 others," he said.
Mr Kang'ara added that "don't be behind news, Mt Kenya unity is by force by fire and whatever will be schemed against us, we will be there to counter, it is not the first time it will be happening, it is routine".
Former Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri confirmed that there are some Mt Kenya region leaders who are supporting Mr Gachagua while outside United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party.
"Those are among those who were in UDA but after the elections, we decamped and are yet to join any formation. We are oscillating around a movement aligning itself to the common man's thought and we have christened ourselves as Wanjiku's voice," he said.
He said: "Besides making it clear that Gachagua must not be fought since he is a heartbeat to the ultimate power, we will support him till 2027 when new ambitions or renewal of mandates will be declared."
Winds of change
Kikuyu Council of elders Chairman Wachira Kiago, who told Nation.Africa he attended the meeting, said: "We want to seal the doors that can be used as entry points to divide us."
He added that the Mt Kenya version of governance must change from going to vote so as to be in government to that of pursuing real benefits, even if by deliberately going to the opposition trenches.
“The narrative is not how to block Mr Odinga from power...such nonsense...but about our youths, farmers, elderly, projects...accrued interests of representation," he said.
Former Kiambu governor Mr Ferdinand Waititu told Nation.Africa on Monday: “They have been branding us as tribalists when we meet...they now be better prepared to record and produce a song to make their tribal tagging easier since we will meet more than 500 times before 2027."
