Caught between a political rock and a hard place, a number of Mt Kenya political bigwigs continue to hold their cards close to their chests as they weigh their options as the clock ticks towards the 2027 elections.
The leaders – largely first-term governors – have adopted a cautious approach as they are faced with a tough political choice between supporting President William Ruto or his friend-turned foe Rigathi Gachagua.
President William Ruto (left) and Democratic Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua.
Photo credit: Boniface Mwangi and Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
Aware of the ramifications of their choices with re-election at stake, the leaders continue to buy time as they ponder their next move with political survival in mind.
Some of the “fence sitters” include Murang’a Governor Irungu Kang’ata, his Kiambu counterpart Kimani Wamatangi, Kiarie Badilisha of Nyandarua and Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro.
They were elected on President Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party in 2022, but have now found themselves in the horns of a political dilemma over their next political decision.
The falling out of former Deputy President Gachagua and his ex-boss appears to have politically poisoned the vote-rich region with the undecided politicians adopting a cautious strategy to avoid jeopardising their re-election chances come 2027.
While several leaders have taken sides, first-term governors serving in homogenous counties and MPs who have future national political interests, have continued to buy time on their next political move.
The 10 Mt Kenya counties of Laikipia, Tharaka-Nithi, Murang'a, Kiambu, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Nyandarua, Embu and Meru and the cosmopolitan Nakuru have six first-term governors where only two, from Embu and Nakuru, have been public about their support for President Ruto.
Speaking recently during the burial of Embakasi North MP James Gakuya’s mother in Murang’a, Governor Kang’ata left people guessing which side he supports, saying it is the people who will give him direction.
“People are asking which (political) side I am on. I am your servant and you are the ones who will give me direction. I only have one vote and you know the people’s choice is God’s choice,” said the first-term governor.
The same dilemma also faced his Nyandarua counterpart during the burial of Kipipiri MP Wanjiku Muhia’s father when he also adopted a similar strategy by speaking in coded language.
“I signed a contract with Nyandarua people in 2022 and they know what they told me. What they will tell me to do in future is what I will follow because we are people who respect our contracts,” said Governor Badilisha.
For MP Nyoro, he has been described as a “lone ranger” who has been vocal in his criticism of the current government since a fallout with President Ruto.
However, the second-term lawmaker has avoided talking politics with his concern being issues of governance in the country.
The strategy even forced Mr Gachagua to publicly call him out for his silence, urging him to declare his political stance.
Described as a cautious political player, the closest he came to breaking the silence is when he criticised the decision to impeach the former Mathira MP in 2024, saying it was ill-advised and that he had warned the government against it.
Mr Gachagua has repeatedly issued several deadlines to Mt Kenya leaders to pick a political side for their future, at one time giving the leaders up to February 2025 to go public or face political consequences.
He asked the leaders to align with “the people’s will”, warning that those who do not listen to the "ground" will face the wrath at the ballot in 2027.
His Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP), launched in 2025, provides a platform for leaders from the region.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua poses for a photograph after unveiling his new political outfit, the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP), at the party headquarters in the Lavington, Nairobi, on May 15, 2025.
Photo credit: Thomas Mukoya | Reuters
However, most of them continue to sit on the fence.
Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga, who has also been sending mixed signals on his political stand, says that in the game of politics, it is one’s scheme that matters.
He explains that politics is about interests and that whoever is interested in any position uses any means to get there, "because nowhere else is the mantra, 'The end justifies the means' more prominent than in politics".
The second-term governor agrees that some leaders have openly joined certain formations, others focused on developments and others who have adopted a cautious approach.
However, he predicts that the scenario will be totally different towards the end of the year with major realignments in the offing.
“If I were a first-term governor, I would find it very difficult to act the way I do because you clearly want to protect your next phase. But for me, I always join the President on development tours because it is not yet time for politics. When the time comes, the people will tell me whether to join yellow, green and white or another colour, that is what I will do,” Mr Kahiga told Nation .
The straight-talking county boss, nonetheless, admits that the reception the President used to receive in the region in 2022 and 2023 has waned and there is work to be done by those who have chosen to work with him.
“I call upon those people who have chosen to work with the President to speak about him. You cannot be working for a man whom you don’t speak well of. That is the highest form of treachery,” says the governor. “We can see many kinds of such people who are in government but will hardly say any word about the President.”
Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru notes that it is normal for people to evaluate which side is likely to guarantee them re-election come 2027.
The second-term governor argues that there was a time it seemed that that side would be the opposition, however, the political terrain is changing and UDA is strongly reasserting itself and regaining its ground in Mt Kenya, especially due to the demonstrable development by the government.
“Further key political pillars that influence Mt Kenya have stayed with the government. That is why you will find even those who had left are coming back and some are considering how to make this shift back to the government side,” says Ms Waiguru.
Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru during an interview at her official residence in Kutus on December 17, 2025.
Photo credit: Evans Habil | Nation Media Group
Nonetheless, Embakasi Central MP Benjamin Gathiru points to fear of intimidation by government machinery, ongoing development projects being stopped, de-whipped from Parliamentary committees and the corrupt fearing investigations and arrest by investigative agencies.
He points out that those are the main reasons for the fence sitting but the leaders know where the heart of the people of the region is.
“For us who shifted camps and joined Gachagua, we were removed from some committees and even for those still with the government, they tell us that when the right time comes, they will do the right thing, which is changing their loyalty,” says Mejjadonk.
“By August, they will start taking sides, either to continue eating government money and be sent home or live with intimidation and get re-elected come 2027.”
Since his impeachment in October 2024, Mr Gachagua has positioned himself as the de facto leader of the Mountain.
He has been telling leaders from his backyard who agree to quit UDA for his new party that they would be re-elected, arguing that President Ruto has lost the support of the Mt Kenya region with voters allegedly feeling betrayed over government appointments, development priorities, and key decision-making.
The 61-year-old has maintained that some leaders allied to President Ruto no longer speak for the people but for their political survival, portraying himself as the true voice of the region.
Mt Kenya leaders: Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro and governors Anne Waiguru (Kirinyaga), Irungu Kang'ata (Muranga), Kahiga Mutahi (Nyeri), Isaac Mutuma (Nyeri), Kiarie Badilisha (Nyandarua) and Tharaka Nithi's Mūthomi Njūkì.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
The warnings have seen a section of leaders shift allegiance to his camp, including Senators John Methu (Nyandarua), Karungo Thang'wa (Kiambu), James Murango (Kirinyaga), Joe Nyutu (Murang’a) and John Kinyua (Laikipia).
The growing list also includes MPs, namely Mukurweini's John Kaguchia, James Gakuya (Embakasi North), Embakasi Central’s Mejjadonk, Wanjiku Muhia (Kipipiri) and Kirinyaga Woman Representative Njeri Maina, among others.
On the other side, most second-term governors, Cabinet and principal secretaries from the region with political ambitions and MPs have stuck with the President.
