A vicious scramble for Mt Kenya East voting bloc has erupted with five formations coming up, pitting Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, Democracy for Citizens Party boss Rigathi Gachagua, Jubilee Party’s Fred Matiang’i, Kirinyaga governor Anne Waiguru and former Meru governor Kawira Mwangaza.
Mt Kenya East brings together Meru (772,000 voters), Tharaka Nithi (232,000 voters) and Embu (334,000 voters) counties, with Prof Kindiki’s allies saying they are also recruiting Kirinyaga (376, 000 voters) into the mini mountain scheme.
The scheme seeks to control the 1.7 million voters therein as per the 2022 Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), the register was expected to grow to about 2.5 million voters by 2027.
Photo credit: Nation Media Group
According to Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku, an urgent need for the establishment of the mini mountain is twofold: to fight marginalisation and create independent bargaining power from the developed West.
“In the event that it emerges Mr Gachagua having the better hand, we in the East will not submit to him and that will mark the splitting of the Mountain to have us remain in the East with Kindiki as our kingpin,” he said. Mr Ruku has been supported in the plot by Mbarire, who is also the ruling party, United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Chairperson.
Threatened by emerging competition within the Broad-Based Government, where Coast, Western and Nyanza regions have expressed interest in the running mate slot, Prof Kindiki is left with a herculean test of shoring up his numbers in the Mountain to keep himself relevant, with pundits warning him that Mr Ruku and Ms Mbarire are leading him into national irrelevance by attempting to make him a village kingpin.
Major trouble for Prof Kindiki is that the broad-based government loyalists outside Mt Kenya can unite and lobby for President Ruto’s running mate position in 2027, hence isolate the Mountain from his re-election math.
With Mr Gachagua appearing to have an edge of fellowship in the Mountain that also has Kiambu, Murang’a, Nyandarua, Nyeri and Laikipia Counties that have a combined 3, 001, 746 voters and expected to grow to about 4.2 million voters by 2027, Prof Kindiki’s best strategy is to fight out for the estimated 6.7 million united Mountain votes’ bloc as opposed to hiving off a small comfort zone.
In the scramble, Mr Gachagua’s battalion in the East brings together Mithika Linturi in Meru, Kamau Murango in Kirinyaga and Manyatta MP Gitonga Mukunji in Embu.
Ms Mwangaza has resurged from her 2024 impeachment and is causing ripples with her Umoja na Maendeleo Party, where she has teamed up with the Linda Mwananchi faction of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) that has Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and Embakasi East MP Mr Babu Owino as principals.
Dr Matiang’i has teamed up with former Meru governor Mr Peter Munya. Ms Waiguru has emerged as a solo combatant and has expressed a desire to be appointed as President Ruto’s running mate in 2027.
Those five formations seeking to control the 2.5 million votes in the proposed East block majorly spell doom for two actors: President Ruto and Prof Kindiki. According to political scientist Mr John Okumu, of the five groups, only two are lobbying for President Ruto’s re-election. “If you were to be fair to all and share the East bloc equally among them, each would get 500, 000 votes. Minus turnout and spoilt votes deficit, each is pursuing about 300, 000 votes,” he said.
