By Anderson Ojwang
Could the Mountain be returning to its restive and illusive tendency towards the Valley after 15 years of consummate political marriage?
Is the country about to be treated to a political rapture between the Valley and the Mountain who from independence have witnessed power batons change hands among themselves on different occasions?
The Valley and Mountain have always coalesced together to deny the Lake, Mulembe, and other regions from ascending to the “white house” in the mountain.
But in 2007, when the Valley and the Lake came together, Mountain braved a political earthquake during the controversial presidential elections that were disputed and threw Kenya into post-election violence and eventually birthed the government of national unity.
The incumbent President Mwai Kibaki retained his seat while Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) candidate Raila Odinga became the Prime Minister in the coalition government.
But a fallout in the ODM between Raila and the Valley leader President William Ruto, then Agriculture Minister in the collation government precipitated a new political dispensation that brought the Mountain and the latter together once again.
The new dispensation birthed a political alliance that propelled then Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta to the presidency with Ruto becoming his Deputy while Raila returned to his leader of opposition role.
This alliance opened the door for Ruto to climb and capture the mountain and subsequently dislodged the political ruling class and changed the political matrix of the region to his own making.
Ruto deconstructed the political matrix in the mountain by eliminating the once powerful lights in the region including former Kiambu Governor Kabogo, Peter Kenneth, and Martha Karua among others.
He came up with new leaders from the region including the current deputy President Rigathi, leader of the majority party in the parliament Kimani Ichungwa among others.
The Mountain has been in Ruto’s armpit for the last 14 years but currently, it is getting restive, with tremors and bolts of lightning emergence of “Mr. Truthful man”, who is out to take back the mantle from his master.
The House of Mumbi is in rumbles with emerging political blocs threatening to unleash a political earthquake ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The Mountain has now been split into two main political blocs within the ruling Kenya Kwanza coalition with one supporting President Ruto and another one for the “truthful man”.
The gloves are off with the Truthful going bare knuckle on his boss by challenging him to stick to his promise to the people of Kenya that his deputy will never be frustrated in his regime.
“I ask President Ruto to stick to his promise on the deputy. I also implore him that we should complete our three years and after that, he can decide on his next political course,” Rigathi said over the weekend during a series of rallies.
He went on to say during last Friday’s Citizen TV interview “I ask President William Ruto to please allow me to work for the next three years. Let me serve the people of Kenya. What is happening is not right,”.
Rigathi claimed frustrations by officials from the President’s office and alleged that together with his officials, they were removed from the President’s Diary WhatsApp group, and he is not privy to Ruto’s engagements, which is the reason he has been missing some events.
“I never expected such to happen, given all I went through under the previous administration just to support President Ruto. My family is distressed by the recent political happenings,” he said.
But Ruto’s allies have not taken the rebuttal lying with some MPs saying the impeachment was real and that Rigathi will face his Waterloo.
‘We will impeach you “Mr. truthful man”. The dice are cast and we must hold the dignity of the country high and work for Kenya,’ said MP Didmus Barasa.
But the decibels of rubbles in the Mountain are getting louder with a section of MPs and elders pledging allegiance to Internal Security Cabinet Secretary Prof Kithuri Kindiki as their leader and link with the national government.
Rigathi and Kindiki rivaled for the choice of running ahead of the 2022 presidential elections and the two have remained politically separated.
The Njuri Ncheke Council of Elders said Kindiki had proven himself as a close and reliable ally to President Ruto, thus he was fit to be the region’s kingpin who would also channel development in the area.
“We, Njuri Ncheke from two counties namely Meru and Tharaka do endorse Kindiki to be our link with President Ruto. Today we endorse him as our kingpin, spokesman, and the link between us, Mt Kenya East, and the President,” they said.
Kapsaret MP Oscar Sudi added the fuel to fire by declaring that the deputy President was the problem unto himself and was playing tribal cards instead of uniting the country.
“You claim to be truthful but the worst liar. We must be honest with ourselves. Some people are not happy with the current alliance between UDA and ODM and are only interested in their own personal gains,” he said.
During the recent President Ruto tour of Nyanza to the National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah, said it was wrong for a section of leaders from Mt Kenya to be ungrateful to the president despite getting seven slots of Cabinet secretaries as well as the position of the DP as opposed to Nyanza.
But Rigathi responded, “I saw some debate in Nyanza where some leaders tried to suggest in a very reckless manner that this region has not shown gratitude for the positions that the President has given us in the Cabinet. That is not true.”
He said the claim by Ichungwa’h amounted to trying to abuse the Mountain people who have shown the highest form of gratitude to the president, by supporting his presidential bid.
“Actually in matters of gratitude, it was the other way round. He is the one who owes us gratitude in this region because we have already vindicated ourselves.” Rigathi said.
Rigathi allies led by Nyeri County Speaker Gichuhi Mwangi said the people of the Mountain should support the DP as he was instrumental in protecting the region’s development agenda.
“DP Gachagua occupies the second highest leadership position in the country, and we must stand with him and support his efforts to steer the government,” he said.
MP Kangema Peter Kihugi said the region must get its share in government to secure development and must unite to protect the region’s interests.
Tetu MP Geoffrey Wandeto said the DP had succeeded in uniting the region by offering an olive branch to all leaders regardless of their political affiliation.
“You are the anointed leader of the region, like David. You have been selected from many options, but God chose you, and now you are in the right position to unite us,” he said.
With gloves off, Kenyans will be watching if the restive mountain will calm down to drink the sweet waters from the Valley once again.
