President William Ruto with Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga during a Sunday service at Ngangarithi Primary School in Nyeri County in September.
The move by President William Ruto to bring prominent Mt Kenya politicians back into his administration appears to be a double-edged strategy aimed at shoring up his popularity while also providing him with a fallback plan ahead of the 2027 elections.
His recent appointments from the restive region are likely to reignite political rivalries in some of the key counties within the vote-rich Mt Kenya area, amid growing rebellion following the impeachment of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
Political pundits suggest that Dr Ruto may have realised some of his loyalists have failed to effectively market and defend him in Mt Kenya. As a result, he is now assembling another team to bolster his campaign and regain control of the political soul of the region.
The new appointments and nominations to his Cabinet and other State offices point to a leader waging an all-out battle to reclaim lost ground in the region.
Following the contentious Finance Bill 2024 and Mr Gachagua’s impeachment, President Ruto has been struggling to charm the Mountain.
“Let us not beat around the bush. The current political climate strongly favours a scenario where Dr Ruto could make history as a one-term president if things remain unchanged. He is crafting a team to help him avert that tragedy. He is simply campaigning,” says political scientist Mr Gasper Odhiambo.
Mr Odhiambo opines that “the president is now in emergency mode to win back the sulking, bitter, and rebellious Mountain.”
He adds that the president’s recent actions strongly suggest he has lost trust in some of his United Democratic Alliance (UDA) lieutenants.
“President Ruto is clearly creating a new battalion composed of former president Uhuru Kenyatta’s allies, as well as other political parties that opposed his presidential bid in 2022,” he argues.
The elevation of former Governors Lee Kinyanjui (Nakuru) and William Kabogo (Kiambu) signals a president determined to have multiple point men in counties that were critical in his ascent to the presidency.
It is also noteworthy that former senator and high-profile minister Mutahi Kagwe hails from Mr Gachagua’s Nyeri backyard.
President Ruto and Mr Gachagua were swept into power largely by 17 counties, which contributed nearly two-thirds of the total votes they secured to marginally beat Azimio’s Raila Odinga in the 2022 presidential election.
The 10 Mt Kenya counties and seven from the North Rift collectively delivered 4.5 million votes, translating to 63 per cent of his total votes.
Laikipia, Tharaka-Nithi, Murang’a, Kiambu, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Nyandarua, Embu, Meru, and Nakuru collectively gave Dr Ruto nearly three million votes—precisely 2,938,309 votes—from the 10 Mt Kenya counties.
Pundits see Mr Kinyanjui’s return from political obscurity as a strategic move to have strong political representation in Nakuru County, which boasts over one million registered voters as per the 2022 data.
Mr Kinyanjui, nominated as Cabinet Secretary for Investment, Trade, and Industry, is seen as an attempt to counter the influence of Naivasha MP Jayne Kihara, who leads a group of vocal pro-Gachagua politicians.
In the 2022 elections, Mr Kinyanjui, contesting on a Jubilee Party ticket, garnered more than 220,000 votes in the gubernatorial race won by Governor Susan Kihika—proving his popularity despite going against the Kenya Kwanza Alliance wave that swept through Mt Kenya.
A seasoned politician, Mr Kinyanjui previously contested in 2013, losing to pioneer governor Kinuthia Mbugua before winning in 2017.
He has also served as an assistant minister for Roads and as the inaugural chairperson of the National Transport and Safety Authority.
With rebellion growing in Mt Kenya and many politicians from the region appearing hesitant to support the current regime, the President is taking no chances.
The same applies to Mr Kabogo, who has been enlisted to bolster the President’s support in Kiambu County—another stronghold, besides Nyeri, where Dr Ruto has faced fierce opposition.
President Ruto has come under criticism from Kiambu MPs, including Senator Karungo Thang’wa and Githunguri MP Gathoni wa Muchomba, both of whom have been vocal in their attacks on his administration.
Consequently, pulling Mr Kabogo out of the political cold is seen as an effort to reinforce the President’s team in the populous county, where National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah and former Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria have been the main allies.
“Besides those two, Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi is now in an awkward position—forced to align himself with either firebrands like Senator Thang’wa and Ms Muchomba or former governor Ferdinand Waititu, who are all pushing the Gachagua agenda,” says Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology lecturer Mr Charles Mwangi.
The 63-year-old Mr Kabogo has been on the political scene since 2002, serving two terms as Juja MP before becoming Kiambu’s first governor.
He is a straight-talking politician—an asset in the rough and tumble of politics.
The return of former Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe also fits into the emerging scheme, with his nomination to the Cabinet seen as an effort to bring him back into political reckoning.
Mr Kagwe, a former MP and veteran minister who served under two presidents, is viewed as a likeable figure in the Mt Kenya region.
With Nyeri County proving to be the source of the fiercest opposition to the President, having Mr Kagwe in the fold is aimed at reassuring locals that the Head of State has not abandoned them.
