Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro is a man under siege from former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and his political brigade from Mt Kenya since launching his presidential bid two months ago by severing ties with the United Democratic Alliance and joining the People’s Party of Kenya (PPK).
The second-term lawmaker has been turned into a political boogeyman by Mr Gachagua’s allies, coming under frequent attacks for allegedly being a “government mole” in the opposition, out to split votes from the Mt Kenya region.
Once the blue-eyed boy of President William Ruto in the run-up to the 2022 elections and during the first two years of the Kenya Kwanza government until their fallout in late 2024, the legislator is now a marked man in the United Opposition, with his camaraderie with Jubilee Party leader Fred Matiang’i also drawing suspicions.
Away from politics, laser scrutiny has also been on Mr Nyoro’s rise from an intern stockbroker and political youth winger for former Kiharu MP Ngenye Kariuki to be Kenya Power’s biggest individual investor, coupled with other dealings in other stocks.
People's Party of Kenya (PPK) leader Ndindi Nyoro addresses a crowd in Njoro Town, Nakuru County, on October 21, 2026.
Photo credit: Boniface Mwangi|Nation Media Group
While his stellar management of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) in Kiharu has become a benchmark across the country, Mr Nyoro is facing a political litmus test as he positions himself as one of the opposition bigwigs keen on denying President William Ruto a second term. He talked to our reporter.
Ndindi Nyoro dismisses PPK splits opposition votes, says he’s ready to run if coalition picks him
The Sh1,500 per year paid by the learners brings in around Sh18 million. We also get donations for chapati and sugar. However, CDF is the base for the Masomo Bora programme.
The donations are ring-fenced and we currently have over Sh50 million lying in Cooperative Bank in Murang’a, which will give us an interest of Sh4 million this year. This will go back into the programme.
Those are lame excuses. I had already tiled about 80 percent of public schools in Kiharu in my first term when I had not become the committee’s chair, and even after my removal, now almost two years, the projects are still going on.
The relationship is good. He is like a brother to me. Politics should not be personal. It is not enmity. An individual having a different political view does not make them cease being your friend. So we are friends.
I am not chest-thumping, but I can do a very good job as Kenya’s president. I have taken a lot of time to prepare myself for a chance to lead this country by spending more time understanding the challenges facing our country across all sectors.
I have also capacity-built myself after becoming an MP by going for post-graduate degrees in Economics at both UoN and Kenyatta University. I have also completed short courses in Economics and Development from the London School of Economics and this April, I graduated with an Executive Certificate in Economic Development from Harvard University.
All these were deliberate because I realised you can be a good leader who is well-meaning but incompetent.
It was not a one-off (disagreement) but a process but the last nail was the impeachment of Mr Gachagua. Anyone who did not participate in the process automatically became an enemy of Ruto.
I do not regret it, as I made the decision consciously even though I ended up being removed as the National Assembly’s Budget Committee chairperson.
It is unfortunate that the two are now fighting me even though I have helped them in the past. I was Mr Gachagua’s chief campaigner during his bid for running mate in 2022.
If he (Methu) was given, he can talk about himself. I don’t need any politician to give me money to do anything. I am the only politician who President Ruto has given money to and declined. I have not taken any money from him.
For Methu, the house he lives in was bought by Ruto. The car he drives is from money we contributed for Ol Kalou by-elections. I personally gave him money for the mini polls and two days after the by-elections, he bought a new car. So who is he to call other people names? Let him challenge me and I will bring out the evidence.
First, I never formed the People’s Party. The party is older than both Jubilee and DCP. The party was formed in 1996, took it over in 2024 but I officially joined it two months ago. So I had a party before Mr Gachagua. It is currently the fastest growing party in the country with over 2,500 aspirants as we speak.
Second, the reason I joined this party is because I needed flexibility. I have a clear agenda of what I want to achieve. Third, I think I have come of age. You said I was a blue-eyed boy, but I am now a man and so my work is not to dance to the tunes of other people.
Ndindi Nyoro warns about propaganda against him by Gachagua’s camp
Split the Mountain, from who? If the opposition chooses Gachagua, I will support him and if they choose me, I hope he will also support me. So what votes are being split? We have over 30 political parties in Mt Kenya, why is it only mine that is not uniting the region?
Don’t listen to the propagandists. Kenneth Matiba declared to be president ahead of Mwai Kibaki and not the other way round. Mr Matiba ended up with 1.4 million votes and 32 MPs while Kibaki had one million votes and around 24 MPs. So who split whose votes?
Matiba paid the ultimate price for this country and it is sad when people want to call him names whereas the only sacrifice that person (Methu) spreading the falsehoods has done for the country is to grow his beards and call himself a Mau Mau.
Don’t say people are labelling us, say DCP and Gachagua. But that is none of my worries. I did not join the opposition to be validated by DCP. I am a party leader and I joined the opposition to speak to Kenyans. Up to the level of my abilities, I am willing to work with every opposition leader but whoever does not want to work with me, that is upon them.
Jubilee Party leader Fred Matiang'i, People's Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua and People's Party of Kenya (PPK) leader Ndindi Nyoro during their rally in Njoro Town, Nakuru County, on October 21, 2026.
Photo credit: Boniface Mwangi|Nation Media Group
I am open to holding any political meetings with all opposition principals. I have sat down with all the principals but when we sit down with Matiang’i, we talk about the country and not sharing power. So there are things you cannot force.
I am not aware of what you are talking about but let me talk about generalities. I am a good ally to anyone I come close to because I am very hardworking. When I decide to embark on a project, I give it my all. So I will not be surprised if anyone wants to work with me.
It is to change Kenya and I know how we can change the country and it is my hope that we get a joint presidential candidate. Next year, President Ruto is going home and that is where my focus is.
I have repeated many times that consensus building is not an easy job. We need to look at where the country is, then decide who in our team is best placed to deal with the challenges. We are hoping the process will be objective and fair. I am willing to abide with and to support the candidate who will be picked, just the same way I am asking them to support me if that person is Ndindi.
But again, how can I be President Ruto’s project and at the same time sponsored by Uhuru? You guys need to harmonise the propaganda. When they see a young man rising, people imagine he cannot do it by himself. It is just lame. All these other guys were party leaders at my age, who was sponsoring them then? What makes anyone think we need an invisible hand to be something?
I started buying shares in my first year in campus. I learnt a lot about investment starting as an intern at Mr Ngenye’s firm. But for Kenya Power, I started buying the shares in the run-up to 2017 elections when a share was trading at Sh1.50 and the firm was making losses.
