By Anderson Ojwang’
It was just a matter of when and not if the two leading political leaders from Mt Kenya, former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua and former chairman of the National Assembly Budget Committee Ndindi Nyoro, would lock horns.
Gachagua had in the recent past engaged in a turf battle with Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, with the latter advocating the split of Mt Kenya between West and East.
The signs were too glaring, punctuated by shadow boxing in the emerging bitter rivalry between the two regional leaders and political parties, namely Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) and the People’s Party of Kenya (PPK).
And interestingly, Mt Kenya is witnessing the political rivalry that was witnessed in 1992 between former Kiharu MP and opposition doyen, the late Kenneth Matiba, and former Othaya MP, the late Mwai Kibaki.
The rivalry
Nyeri and Murang’a counties became the main protagonists in the 1992 first multi-party election. Matiba, together with the late Charles Rubia and the late Raila Odinga, had been detained for agitation for constitutional change and were later released from jail.
For Kibaki, he remained in the Moi government and described the opposition’s quest for multipartyism as one cutting a Mogumu tree with a razor blade.
And now the 1992 rivalry is replaying between Gachagua and Nyoro and is likely to once again divide Mt Kenya ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The 1992 repeat
Methu said President Ruto was scheming to return Mt Kenya to 1992, where Matiba and Kibaki formed two parallel parties and subsequently handed the victory to then President, the late Daniel Moi.
“Ruto having realised that Mt Kenya have formed their own party under one leadership, Rigathi Gachagua, he wants to take us back to 1992. Ruto has decided to cut down the Mt Kenya community to size and he thinks that he can take us to the direction of 1992.
These wheelbarrows that are coming up, all of them, and you saw one of them that was launched yesterday and we were waiting for it because we had been told of the wheelbarrow coming from Murang’a,” he said.
Ndindi rebuttal
Gachagua, while speaking in the USA, said in Mt Kenya West, President Ruto had introduced a green wheelbarrow to divide the Mountain.
Previously, DCP designate Secretary-General John Methu had described Ndindi’s party as a green wheelbarrow sponsored by President Ruto.
Naivasha MP Jane Kihara said Ndindi was a Ruto project aimed at dividing the Mt Kenya votes.
“Currently, he is speaking the opposition language but later he will declare his presidential bid. Ruto has known he cannot get votes in Luhya and Luo land and has now returned to haunt for Mt Kenya votes,” she said.
But Nyoro said he had been supportive and respectful to Gachagua but would not lie low to be intimidated in the new power matrix.
“I want to say I am also capable of being party leader. For the longest time in your politics, Ndindi Nyoro has been supporting you in everything you have done,” he said.
Ndindi said during the 2022 UDA deputy president nomination for the running mate, of which he was a contestant, he supported Gachagua.
“During the elections for the running mate, we were four contestants and I was among them. I signed and you got the slot,” he said.
He said despite their fallout, during Gachagua’s impeachment, he did not vote because it was an unjust move.
“During the impeachment, I never participated and that time we were not in good terms. You know why.
At impeachment, I did not participate because I knew it was injustice.
You people have seen I have remained respectful but every day you wake up I become your topic,” he said.
He challenged Gachagua that if he wanted to go back to work with President William Ruto, he was free to do so.
“Those who want to go back to Ruto. Kindly go back. If you want his money, go get it and leave me alone.
If you want to work with him, join him and leave me alone, I have no time to waste over infighting in the opposition,” he said.
He said nobody would guide him in the opposition on how to conduct his campaigns and that he would not beg anyone.
“I am not in the opposition to be guided on how I will conduct my campaigns. I will work with those who are ready and those who are not interested can stay away, I will not beg,” he said.
Not a project
Ndindi has denied the allegations, saying he severed links with President Ruto and his UDA party a long time ago.
Nyoro told a local TV station on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, that he would defend his party against any direct political attacks, but maintained that he had not heard any opposition leader accuse the People’s Party of Kenya of undermining the opposition.
“I have not heard any leader directly accuse our party. If they do, I will come out and defend it,” Nyoro said.
He said leaders should avoid creating conflicts between political allies where none existed.
“Even the leadership of all opposition parties, including DCP, have sent me congratulatory messages. It is important that we do not try to make brothers fight where there is no fight,” he said.
“People’s Party is having a lot of acceptance and goodwill across the country. We are receiving aspirants every day here. This means as more join, they are adding to opposition numbers,” Nyoro said.
Land is burning
The mountain is burning, and who will bring the water? It will soon get murkier in the mountain, with heavy casualties.
