Former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua (background). Inset (from left): President William Ruto, his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga.
As Kenya’s political landscape begins to take shape ahead of the 2027 general elections, an unlikely consensus appears to be forming among three of the country's most prominent political rivals — President William Ruto, his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga.
While their political ideologies and alliances have historically been at odds, they now share a growing unease over one man — former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua.
Mr Gachagua appears to have increasingly become a power centre in his own right, leveraging his impeachment, regional identity, and populist rhetoric to consolidate influence, particularly in his Mt Kenya backyard.
President William Ruto.
Though he was perceived as a junior politician in the early stages of president Ruto’s administration, his political ambitions and assertive style after his impeachment in October last year, are unsettling Kenya’s seasoned politicians.
Mr Gachagua’s emergence is largely rooted in his relentless effort to anchor himself as the de facto political kingpin of Mt Kenya region.
With President Ruto working with his deputy Prof Kithure Kindiki to keep a firm grip on the mountain, Mr Gachagua, now the Democracy for the Citizen’s Party (DCP) leader, appears to have run away with a huge chunk of the region’s populace.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua waves to his supporters after his arrival in the country from the USA on August 21, 2025.
Political observers say that his messaging—often sharp, ethnically tailored, and unapologetically regionalist—has found a home among grassroots networks.
For Dr Ruto, this is a delicate balancing act. He owes part of his 2022 victory to the solid Mt Kenya bloc that Mr Gachagua helped deliver, but the former deputy president’s tone and political mobilisation in the region have sparked fears in the Kenya Kwanza camp.
Mr Gachagua’s calculated moves—such as publicly addressing the economic marginalisation of central Kenya—have not gone unnoticed in State House.
President Ruto has since launched massive economic empowerment programmes in Mt Kenya region and other parts of the country, with his deputy Prof Kindiki leading the charge in a bid to consolidate support.
On the opposition front, Mr Odinga’s camp remains wary of Mr Gachagua’s rising influence by working with Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua and DAP-K leader Eugene Wamalwa, all who backed Mr Odinga’s 2022 presidential bid to wrestle swing counties from the ODM leader’s grip.
Mr Odinga’s allies see Mr Gachagua as a more dangerous opponent than previously thought: unpredictable, but increasingly becoming popular in key regions.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and ODM leader Raila Odinga at the Mombasa International Airport on September 16, 2022.
A Gachagua candidacy, even as a kingmaker, could redraw the electoral map—especially if Mt Kenya coalesces behind him.
No wonder Mr Odinga’s allies, as well as President Ruto’s, have trained their guns on Mr Gachagua, accusing him of being “an ethnic bigot.”
Mr Odinga’s elder brother, Siaya senator Oburu Oginga on Friday led the charge against Mr Gachagua during the burial on former minister Dalmas Otieno in Rongo, Migori County, on Thursday, warning him of a fierce 2027 political duel.
“…Gachagua, please, leave us alone. Register your people, we are also registering ours and let us wait for 2027 and we will see what happens,” Dr Oginga said.
Dr Oginga appeared to set the tone for 2027, staging the contest as a battle pitting President Ruto and Mr Odinga on one side against Mr Gachagua’s camp.
Gachagua’s combative style
“Our people must know that this government where we are in is the best arrangement for us. I have been in an arrangement with Moi, I was in arrangement with Kibaki, I was in an arrangement with Uhuru and I can tell you this is the best arrangement we are in,” said the Siaya Senator.
He went on: “I’m telling you from experience. We have never had a closer relationship in government than this. So let us work together. Dr Oginga dared Mr Gachagua to a duel. “Let us compete, we have our Gen Zs and they have their Gen Zs, let us register and have votes. A voter has a voice, and if you want to remove Ruto, please do it through the ballot, not shortcuts. There is no shortcut in the Constitution.”
For former President Uhuru Kenyatta, once the unchallenged Mt Kenya supremo, he now finds his political legacy under siege.
Former President and Jubilee Party leader Uhuru Kenyatta gives a speech during the party's Special National Delegates Conference at Ngong Racecourse in Nairobi on September 26, 2025.
Mr Gachagua’s aggressive reclamation of the region is virtually a serious threat to Mr Kenyatta’s influence in his own backyard.
Despite exiting active politics, Mr Kenyatta remains quietly involved in shaping opposition strategy and preserving his foothold in central Kenya.
Mr Gachagua’s combative style and deliberate sidelining of Uhuru-era allies have eroded much of the former president’s base, leaving him politically exposed and personally irked.
Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba, a member of the Kenya Moja alliance, insisted Mr Kenyatta remains “the undisputed kingpin of Mt Kenya region.”
“He didn’t force it on us, at least in his 10-year rule with his flaws, he was never impeached and never impeached his deputy. He unified the country.
He’s now at liberty to bless anybody to take over from him,” Ms Wamuchomba said.
In a jibe apparently directed at Mr Gachagua, Ms Wamuchomba cautioned against “entitlement politics,” adding that no single party or politician holds a monopoly over Mt Kenya region’s support.
“It’s disheartening to see mountain people attacking each other for political competition; this entitlement is too much! Before DCP, there was Jubilee UDA, DP and others. Nobody has the monopoly of the eight million mountain votes. We said before, hatupangwingwi! Uhuru Kenyatta is the undisputed Kingpin of the mountain, and he didn’t force it on us,” she added.
With the political chessboard being reset, Mr Gachagua is emerging as the wild card of the 2027 race.
For now, the uneasy convergence of Dr Ruto, Mr Kenyatta and Mr Odinga on the Gachagua question speaks volumes.
In Kenya’s fluid political arena, where yesterday’s enemies often become today’s allies, Mr Gachagua’s rise may just force another round of strange alliances before the 2027 contest is settled.
Political analyst Prof Gitile Naituli of Multi Media University of Kenya warns that the ongoing exchange of accusations between former President Kenyatta’s Jubilee Party and former Deputy President Gachagua’s only risks weakening the opposition ahead of the 2027 elections.
Prof Naituli argues that Uhuru’s political camp is in panic over its declining influence in Mt Kenya, leading to what he termed as misplaced attacks.
“Uhuru’s axis would have wanted Matiang’i to have acceptance in Mt Kenya. They are now panicking because they feel they will not penetrate. So, they are throwing accusations not here nor there,” he said.
Prof Naituli also dismissed claims that Mr Gachagua was undermining opposition unity, noting instead that Uhuru himself had shown only lukewarm support for Raila Odinga during the 2022 race.
“If anything, it is Uhuru who would want Ruto back to State House. We know of Uhuru’s lukewarm support for Raila in 2022 — he never really campaigned. So, accusing Gachagua of being a Ruto project looks far-fetched,” Prof Naituli said.
DCP deputy leader Cleophas Malala has even accused the Uhuru-led Jubilee Party of plotting to destabilise Mr Gachagua’s DCP and undermine his popularity.
Mr Malala claimed Jubilee was working with President Ruto’s camp, which also has Mr Odinga on its side under the broad-based government framework, to divide Mt Kenya, a region where Mr Gachagua has been working to consolidate support since leaving government.
“I don’t come from the mountain, and thus I can speak and, in the evening, go back to Kakamega and eat my ugali. That party (Jubilee) must be warned not to cause chaos, if they are indeed part of the United Opposition,” Mr Malala declared.
He suggested Jubilee had aligned itself with Dr Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA), citing what he termed as symbolic “red wheelbarrows” being dished out in Mt Kenya.
“If you work with Kasongo (Ruto) and have been sent with a red wheelbarrow, this is not a party that wants good for our party leader and DCP at large,” Mr Malala charged.
His sentiments followed sustained attacks on Mr Gachagua by Mr Kenyatta’s party, which has instead blamed him for working with President Ruto to undermine Dr Matiangi’s candidacy.
During the Jubilee Party’s National Delegates Conference (NDC) last week, Mr Kenyatta revisited the attacks on his family during the 2022 elections, also recalling the invasion of his Northlands farm in 2023.
“I have both lost elections and won elections…you can never be led by bitterness, anger, or hate,” he said. Although he fell short of naming names, many accuse Mr Gachagua of orchestrating the assault – an allegation he has repeatedly denied.
Embakasi North MP James Gakuya, an ally of Mr Gachagua, believes that Mr Kenyatta’s Jubilee appears to have made up its mind to go it alone in the 2027 election.
“There was a notion that there would be one united opposition, in which Jubilee was supposed to be part of. But in the last Jubilee NDC, it looks like they have opted to go on their own, probably to sponsor a candidate, most likely Matiang’i,” said Mr Gakuya.
“I’m not worried at all because Matiang’i will only split votes from the Kisii region. I’m totally confident that Mt Kenya votes will not split just because Uhuru Kenyatta has picked a different candidate.”
Both President Ruto and Mr Odinga have also accused Mr Gachagua of advancing “tribal politics.”
