By Anderson Ojwang’
The mountain roared and shook. Tremors and shockwaves rocked Murima. Tables turned—from chest-thumping to premium tears—a self-declared king of the mountain reduced to a humbled mountain cat.
That is how the political earthquake erupted in Mt Kenya, leaving beleaguered former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua reeling from a shock defeat in the Mbeere North by-election, won by UDA candidate Leonard Wamuthende.
And the narrative by Gachagua that President William Ruto would not succeed in dividing Mt Kenya, and that he was the ultimate voice of the region, came tumbling down after the loss.
With the by-election over, Mt Kenya has emerged as a battleground between Ruto and the united opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections. If the results are anything to go by, the race for the vote-rich region will be hard fought and hard won.
Gachagua, who had pitched tent to campaign for DP candidate Newton Karish after withdrawing his DCP candidate, lost another highly billed duel with his successor Prof. Abraham Kithure Kindiki.
For Gachagua, the shock defeat was a reality check, sending him back to the drawing board. The assumption that he was the leader of the mountain was indeed a mirage, proving that the region is divided into two main political blocs.
Gachagua had dared President William Ruto to join the fray during the Mbeere North campaigns, but the President gave it a wide berth and instead enlisted his deputy to lead the contest.
“Wewe Kasongo kuja. Mimi niko area na watu wa Mbeere. Tuoneze we kivumbi sasa. Hapana tuma mfanyakazi. Wewe Kasongo kuja mwenyewe… Huyu Kasongo watu wa Mbeere wamekula pesa yake, amenyolewa?” Gachagua said.
For Kindiki, he delivered on his promise by slaying the mountain Goliath, staking his claim as the biblical David of Mt Kenya and as a political leader.
“Unakuja na kimbele mbele na kiherehere. Wewe wacha hizo bwana na uniachane na mimi. Wewe Goliath, umetesa watu siku mingi. Siku zako zimeisha—Alhamisi tunakumalizia. Fire si fire,” he said at a rally.
In the by-election, Kindiki deflated the self-declared leader of the mountain and claimed stake as the political leader of Murima, heightening a new wave of rivalry and tension in the region.
“Hii tabia ya kujitangaza yenyewe eti wewe ndiye mkubwa wa mlima—nani alikuchagua mkubwa wa mlima? I am the senior-most political leader in Mt Kenya region for the avoidance of doubt,” Kindiki said.
He taunted Gachagua as a small man, claiming he never saw him during the struggle for former President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ruto at the ICC in The Hague.
“When Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto had a problem in The Hague, I was their lawyer. I didn’t see him there. We fought against the white man called Ocampo and defeated him. We brought home Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto.
So who is this other one speaking? He is a small man—it’s only that he has inflated his muscles and is troubleshooting.”
This election reaffirmed Kindiki’s first victory over Gachagua during the 2022 search for Ruto’s running mate.
He wrote on his X handle:
“Congratulations to the respective winners in yesterday’s by-elections… The winners now assume the crucial role of rallying communities to unite for the collective good and expedite development. Faya.”
CS Geoffrey Ruku said Kindiki would not be a one-term deputy president but would serve a second term and eventually become Kenya’s sixth president.
“2027 tunachagua President William Ruto na Kithure Kindiki… Na tukimaliza 2032, sisi kama mlima tutaungana na Kenya yote kuhakikisha Kindiki amekuwa rais. Tunaona mbali kama giraffe.”
For President Ruto, his brigades have delivered and passed the test against the united opposition, finally confining Gachagua to the political corner he had long desired.
The loss of the Mbeere North seat leaves Gachagua vulnerable, and the notion that he controls the Mt Kenya vote bloc has been debunked.
This gives Ruto a powerful impetus to seek at least 50 percent of Mt Kenya votes to win the 2027 elections.
