By Anderson Ojwang
Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro is a man walking with a tag on his neck. The tag of suspicion and perception emanating from what is believed to be about his once close ties with President William Ruto.
Nyoro, viewed by many as a potential future president and leader of Mt Kenya, carries a heavy yoke on his back over the term project and mole.
Despite speaking the opposition language, the majority of the people, and especially Mt Kenya, are guarded about him and believe he could be working for President Ruto.
Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi 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 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.
The 1992 repeat
Methu said President Ruto was scheming to return Mt Kenya to 1992, when the former Kiharu MP, the late Kenneth Matiba, and then Othaya MP, the late Mwai 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.
The party
Nyoro recently took over the leadership of the People’s Party of Kenya (PPK), one of the country’s oldest political parties founded in 1996.
Talk with Gachagua
Nyoro said he had held consultations with a wide range of opposition leaders, including Gachagua (DCP), former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i (Jubilee), Martha Karua (PLP), Siaya Governor James Orengo, Kalonzo Musyoka (WPF) and Peter Munya (PNU).
“I have taken time to consult almost all the opposition leaders,” Nyoro said, listing the leaders he had engaged as he weighs the political path ahead.
Nyoro also sought to cast his political project as a national undertaking, appealing to communities across traditional political strongholds to unite behind a common agenda.
“I am for one united Kenya. We cannot leave any Kenyan behind,” he said.
He said his politics was about inclusivity and with no preference to any party region.
“I want to engage in an inclusive politics to treat all the regions the same in terms of development with no specific preference,” he said in an interview.
The Finance Bill vote ghost
The ghost of Nyoro disappearing and skipping the Finance Bill voting looms large over his political career and casts doubt on his move.
During the Finance Bill vote, 187 members of Parliament skipped, with only 40 MPs voting against the Bill.
Gachagua posted on his social media platforms, directing MPs from Mt Kenya allied to his DCP party to vote against the Finance Bill 2026 and stay in the House to force a Division.
“The People Kenya must know who was for or against them.
Those members who keep away from the vote and sit on the fence must be deemed to be against the people of Kenya,” he said.
He said there was no neutral position when the welfare of the people of Kenya was at stake and the MPs were either for the people of Kenya or against them.
Caught flat-footed
Nyoro wrote on his social media platforms, firstly seeking peace and requesting room to be understood.
“Wadosi Wakenya Wote, I come in Peace and humility.
The vote for the Finance Bill happened yesterday; disappointingly, I was not in Parliament.
I travelled out of the Country on Wednesday evening for engagements that could not have been postponed. But no explanation should absolve the blame,” he wrote.
He said the feedback would be a milestone in helping service the country and that nobody was perfect.
“As human as we are, we are far from being perfect and we will always seek to learn from the feedback we receive.
As for the feedback we have received from all Kenyans, we take it with humility. All the feedback will go a long way in making us better as we discharge our duties in Parliament and outside in service to the great people of Kenya,” he wrote.
Rebrand
The Kiharu MP must move faster to rebrand and shed off the tag ahead of the 2027 election.
