By Remmy Butta

Rigathi Gachagua, the impeached former Deputy President, has embarked on a mission.

Ostensibly, it’s about “uniting the Mountain.”

He cloaks his pronouncements in the language of regional solidarity, positioning himself as the singular champion of Mt. Kenya’s interests.

But Kenyans must see this narrative for what it truly is: a calculated, self-serving strategy built on a foundation of false premises and dangerous exclusion. Kenya is bigger than Rigathi Gachagua, and far bigger than any single region.

The False Premise: “The Mountain” as a Monolith Under Siege

Gachagua’s entire edifice rests on the deliberate construction of a myth: that Mt. Kenya is a homogenous entity facing existential threats requiring his unique brand of “unifying” leadership. This narrative is fundamentally flawed.

Diversity Within: Mt. Kenya is not a monolith. It encompasses diverse communities, economic strata, political opinions, and aspirations. Gachagua presumes to speak for millions whose voices he has not genuinely sought, silencing internal dissent and complexity under the banner of imposed “unity.”

“Us vs. Them” Manufactured: His rhetoric implicitly, and often explicitly, pits “Mt. Kenya” against the rest of Kenya. He frames national discourse as a zero-sum game where the region’s gain comes at others’ expense, or vice versa. This is a toxic, outdated, and deliberately divisive tactic.

Exaggerated Siege Mentality: By constantly amplifying perceived slights or threats (real or imagined) to the region, Gachagua fosters an unhealthy siege mentality. This distracts from substantive issues and fuels unnecessary tension.

The Real Agenda: Personal Rehabilitation and Political Survival

The fervent cries for “unity” ring hollow when viewed through the lens of Gachagua’s own political trajectory:

The Shadow of Impeachment: Gachagua was impeached as Deputy President. This is not a minor footnote; it’s a significant mark questioning his fitness for high office and judgment. His current crusade is, first and foremost, an attempt at political rehabilitation, laundering his image by portraying himself as a regional savior.

Power Consolidation: By positioning himself as the indispensable voice of Mt. Kenya, he seeks to corner the region’s political influence. This is about controlling votes, resources, and wielding power, not fostering genuine regional development or national harmony.

2027 Calculations: His sudden, intense focus on “uniting the mountain” is nakedly transactional. It’s laying the groundwork for his perceived relevance and potential candidacy in the next election cycle, using the region as a steppingstone for personal ambition.

Kenya is More Than 50 million Reasons to Reject This Narrative

Gachagua’s narrative deliberately shrinks Kenya. He acts as if the concerns, needs, and futures of over 50 million Kenyans outside his chosen mountain are secondary, or worse, adversarial. This is not only arrogant but profoundly dangerous:

National Cohesion Undermined: True unity is built on recognizing our shared Kenyan identity, celebrating diversity, and seeking common ground. Gachagua’s brand of “unity” does the opposite – it deepens fissures and entrenches ethnic and regional fault lines for his gain.

Distraction from Real Issues: While Gachagua obsesses over “uniting the mountain,” Kenyans across all regions grapple with the crushing weight of the high cost of living, unemployment, corruption, inadequate healthcare, and climate change impacts. His narrative is a noisy diversion from the tangible struggles of ordinary citizens nationwide.

The Danger of Tribal Kingpins: Kenya’s history is scarred by the destructive politics of tribal kingpins who prioritized ethnic mobilization over national progress. Gachagua’s rhetoric is a regressive echo of this dark past, threatening to roll back decades of efforts towards a more cohesive nation.

The Path Forward: Rejecting Division, Embracing Kenya

The people of Mt. Kenya, like all Kenyans, deserve leaders who offer more than narrow, self-serving agendas disguised as unity. They deserve leaders who:

Focus on Tangible Development: Address economic hardships, create jobs, improve infrastructure, and deliver services within the region and nationally.

Build Bridges, Not Walls: Actively seek partnerships and collaboration with other regions for mutual benefit and national advancement.

Uphold National Values: Champion integrity, inclusivity, and the rule of law – values essential for all Kenyans.

Respect Kenyan Diversity: Recognize that Kenya’s strength lies in its rich tapestry of cultures and regions, non-superior, all essential.

Rigathi Gachagua’s “unity” campaign for Mt. Kenya is a Trojan horse.

Behind the facade of regional solidarity lies a project of personal rehabilitation, political ambition, and divisive ethnic mobilization.

It is a narrative that deliberately diminishes the importance of the other 50 million Kenyans and threatens the fragile fabric of national cohesion.

Kenyans, especially those within Mt. Kenya, must see through this charade.

True leadership serves the nation, not just a constituency weaponized for personal gain.

Kenya’s future depends on rejecting the politics of exclusion and embracing a vision where every citizen, from the coast to the lake, from the northern deserts to the slopes of Mt. Kenya, matters equally.

The mountain is part of Kenya’s majestic landscape, but Kenya is infinitely greater than any one mountain or the ambitions of one impeached politician. Let us focus on building that greater Kenya, together.

By Billy Mijungu

The time has come for Kenya to abandon the culture of luxury and embrace a disciplined, people-centered approach to public service.

We can no longer allow Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries to soar above us in privately hired helicopters at the expense of a struggling nation.

Unless it is the President on urgent national duty, no public officer should be travelling in helicopters funded by taxpayers.

Let us normalize flying commercial. Kenya Airways and other airlines are efficient and reliable, and they represent the very standard we must support.

The government should put in place standing travel agreements with national carriers, ensuring that Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries have seats reserved when needed.

This is a simple responsibility the Transport Ministry can coordinate with ease, saving the country billions annually.

Public service is not a luxury.

Meetings are planned well in advance.

Diaries are organized with precision.

There is no justification for last-minute helicopter charters disguised as urgent engagements.

These rides, often taken by people who would never afford them privately, are draining public resources that should be channeled toward national priorities.

It is a shame that at a time when Kenya is struggling to finance free basic education, we are watching public officials rise into the skies for routine duties.

This is a betrayal of our values, and a mockery of the struggles parents and learners face across the country.

Education remains one of the most effective tools against poverty, yet we are choosing opulence over opportunity.

We must demand a full and transparent audit of government helicopter travel. How much do these chopper rides cost the public each year.

How many classrooms could be built with that money.

How many teachers employed.

How many children supported through bursaries and school feeding programmes.

These are the hard questions that must be answered.

This obsession with helicopters has become a dangerous symbol of political ambition.

Many leaders today are driven by a desire to own flying machines rather than serve the people.

This fuels corruption.

It leads to inflated tenders, misappropriated funds and public money being siphoned off to fund private prestige.

The costs are high and the consequences far-reaching.

Kenya is in a debt crisis.

We are overtaxed.

We are stretched thin.

The youth are unemployed.

Small businesses are struggling.

What we need is a national culture of austerity.

We must cut unnecessary spending.

We must stop the greed that parades as leadership.

We must invest in the future by focusing on education, healthcare, jobs and national development.

The Treasury Cabinet Secretary must take immediate action.

Mobilize departments to reduce travel costs.

Ground the unnecessary flights.

Champion structured, efficient and affordable travel for all government officers.

Leadership is not about flying high while citizens suffer below.

It is about making choices that reflect compassion, responsibility and national interest.

The next election must be a referendum on waste.

It must be about leaders who understand the weight of public trust.

We must ask them to choose between chopper rides and classrooms, between luxury and learning.

Kenya has the potential to rise, but not on the back of helicopters.

It will rise when we lift its children through education.

By Billy Mijungu

Today’s note is for my brother FCPA John Mbadi, Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury.

One word: Defunding basic education is a path to poverty.

I am certain, as a seasoned financial expert, you would prefer to leave behind a legacy of growth, not stagnation or regression.

The ongoing debate about defunding education and the disturbing support it receives from some MPs, like Florence Jematiah, underscores how deeply we have misunderstood the role of education in nation building.

Her remarks suggesting that free education lowers standards and breeds irresponsibility among parents are not only unfortunate, they are ignorant and dangerous.

It is ironic that someone who benefits from public office can stand against the very foundation that builds future leadership.

If she had been truly empowered by quality education, she would know that free, accessible education is not a luxury, it is a constitutional promise and a developmental necessity.

Treasury must heed the wisdom of Horace Mann, who said, “Education is the great equalizer of the conditions of men.”

Mann championed public education as the tool through which societies bridge inequality and unlock individual and collective potential.

Kenya cannot afford to walk backwards.

We must invest more in free basic education, not less.

The money exists.

It is in the bloated budgets for empowerment workshops, endless helicopter rides, unchecked per diems, and inflated domestic subsistence allowances.

It is in efficient tax collection reforms.

It is in anti-corruption campaigns.

It is buried deep in the inefficiencies of our public systems, including overpriced contracts and questionable payouts in public health.

CS Mbadi, let us redirect these funds toward what matters: free education, universal healthcare, subsidized seeds and fertilizers, social housing, and affordable mobility for all.

A country that truly believes in dignity must prioritize education.

Because education must be free.

By Kiboga Warandah

I have always believed that the appointment of John Mbadi as the cabinet secretary that came at a time when Kenya’s economic ship was sailing through turbulent waters was a good decision by the president considering how he has performed so far.

We have been experiencing rising debt, inflationary pressures, public discontent over opaque fiscal policies and a widening gap between policy and people the appointment of John Mbadi as Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury was not just a political decision; it was a national imperative.

A seasoned politician with a deep understanding of finance, accounting, economics and governance, Mbadi arrived at the Treasury not as a bureaucrat removed from the people, but as a leader forged in the furnace of public service.

His ability to balance the delicate line between politics and administration has been nothing short of transformative.

While most technocrats are often swallowed by the complexity of economic planning or paralyzed by the rigidity of political interests, Mbadi has skillfully navigated both realms; bringing policy to the people, and people into policy.

Perhaps one of Mbadi’s most incredible feats is his oversimplification of financial and economic gobbledygook.

For decades, fiscal policy was viewed by the average Kenyan as the domain of elites — spoken in acronyms, models, and concepts that excluded the majority.

Mbadi changed that.

He introduced “People’s Budget,” summaries of the national budget communicated into Kiswahili for the locals complete with relatable analogies, and town-hall explainer sessions.

He launched a Treasury communication unit specifically tasked with converting economic data into digestible content for radio, social media, and rural forums.

Now, Kenyans no longer wait for commentators to explain the budget to them; they hear it from the Treasury itself, clearly and directly.

In doing so, he restored the link between public finances and public participation.

When he took office, inflation was threatening household stability.

Prices of basic commodities had risen beyond the reach of many.

Mbadi initiated bold, well targeted interventions: subsidies were redirected to production rather than consumption; strategic reserves were managed transparently; and import-export policies were recalibrated to favor local markets.

Today, inflation is within manageable bands.

The cost of living is more predictable, and confidence in the government’s ability to manage economic shocks has returned.

Even more significantly, taxation long viewed as punitive and arbitrary is now better understood and gradually being accepted.

Mbadi’s overhaul of the tax code wasn’t just administrative; it was psychological.

He pushed for civic tax education in Bunge la wananchi who to him are wenye nchi, social and mainstream media, and expanded digital platforms for easier filing and payment, and held national tax dialogue forums.

Through this, Kenyans have begun to see taxes not as a burden, but as a collective contribution to national development.

Transparency has always been a buzzword, but under Mbadi, it became policy.

He opened the Treasury to public scrutiny, setting up online and physical interactive avenues where citizens can track expenditure in real time, from major infrastructure projects, national government outlay, down to county-level disbursements.

For the first time, the Annual Financial Statements are no longer hidden in 500-page PDF documents, but are accessible, summarized, and interpreted for the average citizen.

Budget-making is no longer an exclusive affair in Nairobi.

Mbadi institutionalized public hearings of what would be styled “treasury mashinani” ensuring that resource allocation reflects the ambitions and aspirations of the people.

Civil society and media are now partners in economic oversight a radical departure from previous cultures of secrecy.

Mbadi’s vision for Kenya isn’t short-term; it’s strategic and generational.

He understands that moving Kenya to a middle-income economy is not a miracle but a process — one that requires consistency in leadership, clarity in communication, and courage in execution.

As he marks a year in this coveted office, he has laid the foundation: stabilizing the macroeconomic environment, restoring fiscal discipline, bridging the gap between government and citizens, and making economic literacy a national agenda.

But transformation takes time. Kenya now needs more years of Mbadi to deepen these reforms, embed them into institutional culture, and ensure that we do not slip back into the opaque, top-down, inefficient systems of the past.

Under his stewardship, the Treasury is no longer a fortress it is a forum.

The economy is no longer an abstract idea it is a lived experience.

And public finance is no longer a mystery it is a shared responsibility.

John Mbadi is not just a Cabinet Secretary.

He is the economic bridge between Kenya’s potential and its prosperity.

And we must walk that bridge with him into a future where every Kenyan is part of the economy, not just a spectator.

The writer is a public policy analyst and commentator on economic issues.