By Anderson Ojwang
Wamunyoro may be streaming and teeming with delegations one after another, but the self-declared leader of Mt Kenya, Rigathi Gachagua, is not sitting upright.
Three months ago, Gachagua was the self-declared leader of the opposition and dictated terms to his colleagues Kalonzo Musyoka, Eugene Wamalwa, Fred Matiang’i, JB Muturi, Martha Karua, among others.
Gachagua became the focal point, and opposition politics revolved around him.
He became the undisputed opposition spokesperson and leader, with most opposition press conferences bearing the emblem of his DCP party.
He was another form of the late Raila Odinga in the making and the determinant of the flow of campaigns and strategies in the opposition.
Wamunyoro became similar to Raila’s Opoda, former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Ichaweri, and President William Ruto’s Sugoi.
Wamunyoro became a reference in Kenyan politics, and visitors and delegates thronged it in droves.
Reality check
Gachagua woke up to a harsh reality check over the emergence of the ODM faction Linda Mwananchi.
The emergence and vibrancy of the group is not only threatening the status quo but also eating into Gachagua’s expected vote block.
The recent successful Linda Mwananchi rally in Thika was a wake-up call to Gachagua that Mt Kenya votes are not a preserve for DCP alone but for other political formations as well.
Gachagua, having muzzled Uhuru’s Jubilee Party, DP, and others in the region, was assured of total control of Mt Kenya into the future.
This explains Friday’s outburst during the outfit’s tour of Nyandarua County.
The panic outburst
Gachagua told Kangata not to take his Linda Mwananchi group to campaign for the DCP candidate in the Ol Kalou by-election.
“We don’t want confusion in Ol Kalou. The campaign has gone on for three months. Irungu Kangata has never been to Ol Kalou. He doesn’t understand the issues and the narratives. He cannot come and bring Linda Mwananchi to campaign on the last day without knowing what the issues are and how the campaigns are being done,” he said.
He said the campaigns have been going on for two months, led by Senator John Methu and others, and wondered about Linda Mwananchi’s value to the team.
“You have not even talked to John Methu; how do you say you are coming to campaign for a candidate you don’t know and have never seen? You don’t know the area, and you don’t know what is happening,” he said.
Gachagua opted to keep off the campaigns and even advised his colleagues to refrain from venturing to campaign for the candidate.
“For DCP, we have a local campaign strategy. Even the principals of the alternative government, I have requested to let the people of Ol Kalou do their own campaign. It is a local campaign with local issues, and we would like it to remain that. That is what I have told the Senator of Murang’a, Joe Nyutu, to tell Irungu Kangata not to bring his jokes to Ol Kalou. Let him leave the people of Ol Kalou to do their own campaign and deal with their issues the way they know how. I am on standby myself because I have not been in Ol Kalou because the campaign is going on well. But if the team leader, John Methu, requests my presence in Ol Kalou, I will be available. That request has not come. I am happy with what is going on,” he said.
Kangata’s equation
Kangata is emerging as one of the future leaders of Mt Kenya, and his rise is challenging Gachagua’s status quo. The decision by Kangata to join Linda Mwananchi irritated Gachagua most, who had anticipated that the Murang’a Governor would join his fold.
“Linda will only go to Nyahururu Town. We should not allow politics to divide us. Since I started politics, I have been forced by political circumstances to hide my values and principles for political expediency,” he said.
The Governor said this election has provided him with an opportunity to join a team of his value and wish, representative of Kenyans.
“I have been forced aside, not necessarily because I believe it, but because I want to win an election. This is the only time I am doing politics when I am very happy because in my group, I see all tribes. We are in one group. I am so happy because we are fighting for a cause and not a tribe,” he said.
Muturi deflates
Democratic Party leader JB Muturi messed up Gachagua’s greatest moment that he had envisaged after his 45 days of conclave.
In Gachagua’s game plan, he would have declared his support for the preferred presidential candidate, but Muturi let the cat out of the bag and deflated his move.
Muturi declared his support for Kalonzo Musyoka to be the opposition presidential candidate.
“I want to say this in Kamulu, before the Apostle Musili and the entire clergy: if it is not me, I am never worried. We must stop being cowards and tell Kenyans our presidential candidate. If it is not me, then it is Dr Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka as the flag bearer,” he declared.
Muturi said it was time for the united opposition to name the presidential candidate and stop acting under fear.
“We don’t have a presidential candidate because we fear that when we name the person, we don’t know what William Ruto will do to him. What has Ruto not said about Dr Fred Matiang’i? He said he sleeps, and since he came here, I have not seen him sleep. He has said everything about all of us. He even said I am incompetent,” he said.
He said it was time the opposition stopped the notion and mentality that they were playing the card of the opposition candidate close to their chest.
Gachagua has been leaning towards Kalonzo and has been traversing Mt Kenya and Lower Eastern together on several political trips.
He recently said Mt Kenya will have to sacrifice the presidential and Deputy President seats in the 2027 general elections to ensure President Ruto is not re-elected.
Orengo-Matiang’i-Karua dalliance
Currently, Siaya Governor James Orengo has developed a closer alliance with Matiang’i and Karua, and the trio last week were in Ahero, Nyando Constituency, for a church service.
Orengo and Matiang’i have engaged in a series of meetings, and this could be creating anxiety and threat to Gachagua.
Gachagua may find himself boxed into a corner by his brand of politics, with other opposition leaders likely to view him as an impediment to unity.
