A fresh push to reconcile former president Uhuru Kenyatta and Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua ahead of the 2027 General Election is gaining steam, and this time around the name of Deputy President Kithure Kindiki is featuring.
This is the fourth push since 2022 where the two former allies-turned-foes are being told to unite for the Mt Kenya region politics to be cohesive, aligned and effective.
According to reliable sources, the latest attempt was scheduled to happen on Tuesday but flopped after Mr Kenyatta became unavailable.
Mr Kung’u Muigai, the national patron of the Kiama Kia Ma Council of Elders, confirmed to the Nation that the two leaders are being set up for a meeting.
“We also want the Deputy President, Prof Kithure Kindiki , to be present. We want a meeting of our senior leaders who are currently impacting the political discourse in Mt Kenya. We are about to succeed. Just be patient,” he said.
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
He said Mr Kenyatta is to give a date, and the stakeholders will deliver all leaders to that joint meeting.
The first attempt was in 2022 where Mr Gachagua was approached to partner with Mr Kenyatta –who was the President then – to unite Mt Kenya under one presidential candidate. Mr Kenyatta was supporting Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition flagbearer Raila Odinga whereas Mr Gachagua was supporting Kenya Kwanza’s William Ruto.
Mr Gachagua defied the unity push and went ahead to win with Dr Ruto, became Deputy President for two years and was impeached in October 2024.
Mr Gachagua served as Mr Kenyatta’s personal assistant for 20 years before joining elective politics in 2017. He was elected Mathira MP and rose to become Deputy President.
Their relations worsened during the campaigns and after Mr Gachagua became Deputy President, with him leading the onslaught against the Kenyatta family businesses and legacy projects.
The fallout peaked after Kenyatta’s Northlands property in Ruiru was raided, with livestock stolen, sections torched and youths attempting to subdivide the land.
Mr Gachagua has publicly apologised to the Kenyatta family for those incidents, but Mr Kenyatta has largely remained noncommittal.
According to Kikuyu Council of Elders Chairman Wachira Kiago, unity talks in a community are a continuous process.
“That is why after Mr Gachagua became Deputy President, we attempted to reconcile him with Mr Kenyatta, but the emotions on both sides were very high. Just about the time we were about to succeed, impeachment politics against Mr Gachagua erupted, and we had to postpone the drive,” he said.
Mr Kiago added that the third attempt was after Mr Gachagua was impeached “and there was a need to hold together the angry mountain and prevent voters from scattering without a shepherd”.
He said the push suffered a setback because President Ruto was also pursuing unity talks with Mr Kenyatta.
“But Mr Gachagua went ahead to reconstruct his politics, became the face of opposition and commenced efforts to hold the community together, link it with other regions and define the 2027 agenda,” he said. “We are now again faced with the urgency of bringing the two together.”
On Wednesday, however, Mr Gachagua downplayed the plan, denying any efforts to have a scheduled meeting with Mr Kenyatta.
He said in an interview with KTN: “If you want to know what is happening, ask us. I don’t have any scheduled meeting with Mr Kenyatta. I have not scheduled. I have not asked for a meeting.”
He did not, however, rule out meeting Mr Kenyatta.
“If need be, I will ask for that meeting. If it is necessary, I will ask for a meeting,” he said.
It was not lost to political pundits that Mr Gachagua had, on July 11, announced publicly that he was seeking an audience with Mr Kenyatta so as to share with him a report on nearly two-month conclave he had held at his Wamunyoro village home.
DCP leader Rigathi Gachagua addresses the media at the party’s offices in Nairobi on August 11, 2026.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group
“I will meet Mr Kenyatta at his Ichaweri home and share with him what Mt Kenya people have told me in our extensive consultations. I will seek his advice and blessings to lead our people to the 2027 battle,” Mr Gachagua said.
Voters have – through various platforms, especially on local vernacular radio stations – demanded that the two close ranks.
According to political analyst Mixson Gitau, the voters want a united Mountain.
“The two should swallow their big egos and unite. There exists a huge gap between their supporters. We are witnessing emerging alliances in the region that are amplifying the differences between the two. Their differences have reached a point where they are childish,” he said.
Mr Gitau said Mr Kenyatta’s men report that the former head of state is harbouring a grudge stemming from their political differences, while Mr Gachagua, in his redefined political clout in the region, has exhibited stubbornness and selfishness.
“I am only a mouthpiece of the ground [persons]. My people have told me I am their presidential candidate, their representative in the talks to pick a joint opposition candidate, and DCP is their sole political vehicle to pursue power. If that is selfishness or stubbornness, let it be,” he said.
Mr Gitau said the unity talks in the region are marred by clashing agendas where elders are pushing for mutual respects; politicians are grandstanding on sharing the spoils; and the clergy is seeking a convergence point.
Mr Kenyatta has been described by the government operatives as having three presidential candidates and is moving as in a game of checkers: Dr Fred Matiang’i, Mr Kalonzo Musyoka and Mr Edwin Sifuna.
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
This has left Mr Gachagua pushing his own presidential bid but attempting to win over Mr Musyoka and Mr Sifuna while seeking to isolate Dr Matiang’i, whom he views as a direct Kenyatta project aimed at clipping his wings in Mt Kenya.
The presence of Prof Kindiki complicates the matrix further. Prof Kindiki had also sought the assistance of former Meru governor Kiraitu Murungi in helping him win the backing of Mr Kenyatta. Speaking during a Meru Dairy function, Prof Kindiki said: “As my senior in politics, go get Mr Kenyatta and convince him to unite our people so that they do not go astray.”
Prof Kindiki said Mr Kenyatta was best suited to unite the region so that it can escape the trap of bargaining from a point of weakness.
Mr Joseph Kaguthi, who has been leading efforts to bring together Mr Kenya elders, professionals and clergy, said the tentative agenda being sought is to have Mr Kenyatta, Mr Gachagua and Prof Kindiki settle for unity of interests, partnerships, structured execution and making the region’s votes count.
Mr Muigai, the Kiama Kia Ma head, said it is in that meeting that it will be agreed on who gets crowned as Mt Kenya spokesman, an issue that has divided the region between Mr Kenyatta, Mr Gachagua and Prof Kindiki.
He said leadership structure in the region recognises Kenyatta as the advisor-in-chief, a role he has held since retirement.
“What we now require is the spokesman, which is the reason we would love that even Prof Kindiki be there. We are not after partisan politics. We are after unity that pacifies passions of hatred, grudges, attitudes and chest-thumping among our leaders,” Mr Muigai said.
“For your information, elders cooperate with the government of the day. But in so doing, we must keep uniting our people in the ever mutating electoral politics and agree on where the future looks more promising. We cannot afford to go to 2027 as a divided house. The votes must count, but they must count together,” he added.
Kiama Kia Ma political wing coordinator Bernard Njue said both Mr Kenyatta and Mr Gachagua must soften their stance if the meeting is to succeed.
“Mr Kenyatta has carried himself as a man hard to forgive Mr Gachagua. If he can publicly meet with President Ruto the two times we have witnessed, there is no reason why he cannot meet publicly with his brother, Mr Gachagua, unless he is not a gentleman,” Njue said.
He added that while Mr Gachagua has apologised for atrocities he meted out to Mr Kenyatta by commission or omission, he has remained hostile to any political initiative involving the former President in Mt Kenya, including the Jubilee Party revival under Dr Matiang’i.
“Mr Kenyatta has not shown public goodwill to unite with Mr Gachagua. Mr Gachagua has not shown proof that he can accommodate Mr Kenyatta in his political projects. That is what we want healed. Both must appreciate the fact that their current divide is not good for us as a community. If they don’t unite, we will scatter our people,” Mr Njue said.
