DP Kithure Kindiki at 1: Hits and misses as professor finds footing as second-in-command

As he marks his first anniversary as deputy president, Prof Kindiki, known for his “moto, si moto?” and “faya, si faya?” slogans, faces a cocktail of reactions, attracting both thumbs-up and thumbs-down in equal measure.

The numbers tell a story of a busy man over the past one year: he has had 571 public and official engagements, visited 46 counties, gone to 183 constituencies out of 290 for development and economic empowerment events, made 196 development site visits in 103 constituencies, and chaired 97 National Government coordination meetings.

Read: How DP Kindiki has won President Ruto’s trust in driving key government agenda

Dr Kindiki, in his bid to make his office a critical political liaison organ, has also hosted 15 county delegations at his Karen residence, hosted more than 50,000 delegates at his Irunduni home, and held 63 engagements with MPs, governors and MCAs at the Karen residence.

The high number of MPs who signed in favour of impeaching Mr Gachagua, people in Prof Kindiki’s circle believe, was enough proof that the former’s exit was nigh.

Mr Gachagua had been hounded out of office when Kibwezi West MP Mr Mwengi Mutuse tabled the impeachment motion, which was endorsed at both the National Assembly and the Senate.

Mr Gachagua did not go down without a fight since, through the courts, he spiritedly tried to block his impeachment and Mr Kindiki’s assumption of office.

President Ruto nominated Prof Kindiki — who then was the Interior CS — as Mr Gachagua’s replacement on October 18, 2024.

Mr Gachagua’s court cases delayed Prof Kindiki’s swearing-in, especially after the High Court in Kerugoya issued a conservatory order against Prof Kindiki taking the oath of office.

The conservatory orders were later vacated by a three-judge bench (Justices Eric Ogolla, Anthony Mrima and Freda Mugambi) on October 31, 2024, paving the way for Kindiki’s inauguration the following day.

The bench had been empanelled by Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu.

More controversy was to later follow Prof Kindiki when, on May 9, the Court of Appeal ruled that Ms Mwilu lacked the authority to empanel the bench that vacated the Kerugoya conservatory orders.

“The Court of Appeal, through the ruling of Justices Daniel Musinga, who is the President of the Court of Appeal, Mumbi Ngugi and Fredrick Ochieng, ruled that it was only the Chief Justice who has the authority to empanel judges under Article 165(4) of the Constitution,” says lawyer Patrick Loch Otieno (PLO) Lumumba.

Read: Kithure Kindiki's Irunduni home emerges as new Mt Kenya power centre

Prof Lumumba argues: “The ruling was fundamental to constitutionalism but detrimental to both Prof Kindiki and Ms Mwilu, who should have honoured the rule of law by resigning from their positions.”

Lawyer Timothy Kariuki says Kenyans cannot today support the notion that Prof Kindiki is the proper Deputy President since his unveiling and installation lacks legal probity and completeness, “since the Kerugoya conservatory orders are yet to be vacated”.

Mr Kariuki argues that this lacuna surrounding the office of the Deputy President is risky. “This is so because should a circumstance arise that requires power to be transferred to the office of the Deputy President, then we will find ourselves in a cycle of court battles seeking an interpretation of who exactly, in the completeness of law, occupies that office,” he said.

Chief Justice Martha Koome, who had been directed by the appellate court to reconstitute another bench to hear the inter-party arguments about the Kerugoya conservatory orders, has since reappointed the very same bench of Justices Mrima, Ochieng and Mugambi.

In turn, Mr Gachagua — who has since changed his court case from that of remaining in office to compensation for what he refers to as unconstitutional crucifixion — has filed a case seeking the recusal of that bench.

The legal grey areas surrounding Prof Kindiki have not deterred him from hitting the road, and today he is among the most conspicuous foot soldiers of President Ruto’s administration.

But while he has been polishing up the President’s image, questions abound on whether Prof Kindiki is of political relevance to the President’s re-election bid in 2027.

Read: Ruto allies move to break Gachagua's hold on Mt Kenya

“The nature of the Deputy Presidency is more political than it is elitist. The Deputy Presidency rises from the running mate ticket where consideration is numerical strength in terms of deliverable votes,” says political scientist Festus Wangwe.

“Mr Gachagua had been picked so as to deliver the Mt Kenya voting bloc — he did in a fantastic manner... His replacement with Prof Kindiki ideally was to keep the Mt Kenya voting bloc happy and behind President Ruto,” adds Mr Wangwe. “We do not have evidence that Prof Kindiki fitted into the political shoes of the felled Mr Gachagua since that region that had given President Ruto 87 percent of its votes does not today appear enthusiastic about his re-election in 2027.”

Mr Gachagua has since formed the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) as the region’s special purpose vehicle for the 2027 General Election, and has partnered with other regional blocs to form the “Wantam” movement seeking to kick out President Ruto in the 2027 General Election.

This scenario has presented Prof Kindiki with a political problem of trying to undo Mr Gachagua’s influence in the mountain, fight any prospect of Mt Kenya deserting President Ruto and, more critically, ensure they vote for his boss come 2027.

One of the biggest tests for Prof Kindiki is in the November 27 by-election in Embu County’s Mbeere North constituency.

Embu-based political analyst Malila Munywoki argues that in case President Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance fails to grab that seat and the opposition takes it, then Mr Kindiki’s influence and relevance for the 2027 second-term bid “will stand gravely rocked”.

The UDA has fronted Mr Leo Muthende while the opposition has fronted Mr Newton Karish on Democratic Party.

National Assembly Majority Leader Mr Kimani Ichung’wah told Inooro TV on October 26 that Mr Gachagua “is no match to Prof Kindiki”.

“Our collective boss, who is President Ruto, has faith in his capacity to get the job done both for now and on the ballot,” he said. “Mr Gachagua had to fall, for he had become a liability to nearly all fronts of this government. But since Prof Kindiki came through for us, our boat steadied.”

At the swearing-in ceremony, President Ruto had praised Prof Kindiki, describing him as a dedicated professional with exceptional qualifications, extensive experience and a strong commitment to national unity and inclusivity.

“I want you to be the Deputy President that I did not have for the past two years... a deputy who is loyal, helpful, unites and is committed to service delivery,” he said.

Read: Why have we stooped this low? DP Kindiki asks, promises to defend Mt Kenya against incitement

Mr Gachagua was to hit back saying: “The job description that the President has defined is that of a ‘Yes Sir’ arrangement that seeks to take over the deputy’s mind and soul... a task I could not fit in.”

In government circles, some feel Prof Kindiki has injected coherence in government operations and stability in the Presidency, over and above articulating the Kenya Kwanza transformation agenda.

His admirers also feel he is adept at boardroom meetings, and there are a number of milestones that include the elimination of sibling rivalries between government agencies that had been an impediment to development.

However, Prof Kindiki is increasingly facing pressure from financial commentators and pundits who ask where the huge budgets he executes are drawn from.

According to the National Treasury budgetary absorption data, as of late September 2025, the DP’s office had utilised half of its annual recurrent budget for the 2025/2026 financial year.

Total recurrent allocation (FY 2025/2026) was Sh2.97 billion and, by close of last month, he had spent Sh1.34 billion in three months.

This spending rate was noted to be almost four times higher than that of his predecessor, Mr Gachagua, during a similar period in 2024.

Read: How DP Kindiki's Ukambani tours rattled Kalonzo’s bedrock

The high expenditure rate coincides with Kindiki’s nationwide “empowerment tours and economic mobilisation programmes”.

Mogotio MP Mr Reuben Kiborek defines Prof Kindiki as “a man who our President likes and will still be the crux of our 2027 re-election bid”.

To curtail his relevance for 2027, Mr Gachagua has launched a spirited ground onslaught against Prof Kindiki and his allies, Kapseret MP Mr Oscar Sudi, crying out that “our Deputy is under siege from that tribalist, corrupt and impeached man”.

Mr Gachagua has dismissed Prof Kindiki and his loyalists as a grouping of fools and community traitors.

On his part, Prof Kindiki on October 14 hit out at Mr Gachagua, dismissing him as “a primitive, prideful and bigoted politician whose game will collapse on its head”.

“Democracy must be about persuasion and respect, not dangerous ethnic chauvinism,” Prof Kindiki said.

But in a quick rejoinder on the same day, Mr Gachagua retorted during a rally in Kirinyaga County: “Let those opposed to me, led by Mr Yes Sir and his disciples, face me and the people in the markets, not hide in tents or behind police security.”

“I cannot imagine why they pride themselves as relevant and effective to their master President Ruto, yet they cannot board vehicles and roam the villages and market centres in impromptu visits to interact with voters,” Mr Gachagua noted.

As Prof Kindiki enters his second of the three years in office, it is a matter of wait-and-see on how long he will be sitting pretty.

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