Mt Kenya CSs go missing at Ruto's point of most need

Keen to pacify a region fast slipping from his grip, President William Ruto appointed politicians from Mount Kenya into his Cabinet to offer Deputy President Kithure Kindiki some backup.

Kindiki has, for months, fought to penetrate the region, often coming short. That is courtesy of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who has turned his impeachment last October into a rallying call for Mt Kenya, earning sympathisers.

The Head of State brought in Cabinet Secretaries (CSs) Mutahi Kagwe (Agriculture), Lee Kinyanjui (Trade) and William Kabogo (ICT) to fire back at Gachagua in all corners: Nyeri, Nakuru and Kiambu, respectively.

The three would join other CSs from the region, appointed to ostensibly “reward” Mt Kenya for supporting Dr Ruto’s presidential bid in 2022. The President got 2.8 million votes from the former Central Province and Nakuru and Laikipia counties in Rift Valley that carry the tag ‘Mt Kenya Diaspora’.

Others in Cabinet from the region are Alice Wahome (Lands), Rebecca Miano (Tourism) and Eric Muuga (Water). Wahome and Miano were part of Ruto’s first Cabinet, with Muuga joining in the wake of last year’s youth-led protests against a controversial proposal to increase some taxes.

Ruto’s troubles in Mt Kenya were compounded by former Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi whose rebellion would see him blame a government in which he served for committing a myriad of ills, including the abductions of government critics. Muturi’s son, Leslie Muturi, had been abducted at the height of last year’s protests.

Ruto would appoint then Mbeere North Member of Parliament Geoffrey Ruku as an answer to Muturi, whose home county of Embu had grown into the hotbed of anti-Ruto sentiment evidenced by frequent flare-ups, especially during anti-government demonstrations.

Ruku, like Kindiki, would be in charge of deflating Gachagua in Mt Kenya East, where the Head of State still hopes to reap from in 2027.

Kenya’s Constitution did not design CSs to be politicians. Its crafters intended to have “technocrats” in Cabinet, with former President Uhuru Kenyatta appointing some when he was first elected in 2013. However, CSs have remained active in politics, even as more politicians are appointed to the Executive.

“They were selected on political, not professional, motives,” Charles Ng’ang’a, who teaches at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, said of the recent appointees from Mt Kenya. “They had no purpose beyond Mt Kenya.”

The greatest test of Ruto’s or Gachagua’s influence, directly or through proxy, will be in the looming by-elections in several constituencies, including Mbeere North.

Indeed, the constituency, which had some 55,000 registered voters in 2022, will serve as a measure of how much of a dent Ruto has suffered in Mt Kenya, and possibly determine how he plays his cards as he crafts a strategy for his re-election.

Gachagua, too, will be hoping to test his muscle, with victory indicating that he has cemented himself as the region’s most dominant politician. He has had such ambitions since he rose to the deputy presidency in 2022. Although Gachagua initially faltered, his impeachment seems to have been the poisoned chalice that could well hand him a region that contributed more than 20 per cent of the vote in 2022.

Equally important, the by-election will test whether Ruto’s gamble of picking ‘point men’ from the vast Mt Kenya will pay off. Not many of them seem interested in the politics despite Gachagua’s absence, which seems attractive for forays into Mt Kenya for Ruto’s allies.

Wahome, a former firebrand MP for Kandara, has mostly abandoned politics, focusing on her docket. The same goes for Kinyanjui and Kagwe, who formerly served as governor and senator, respectively.

The highest political activity has come from Kindiki, stuck to Mt Kenya, perhaps as much as Gachagua was before he was impeached last year. On Thursday, he was in Tharaka Nithi, a day after camping in Meru. In both counties, he said he “engaged grassroots leaders.” Gachagua’s name is never far from Kindiki’s lips.

“We have had intense political rivalries before, but never have we witnessed this level of destruction and incitement. Why have we stooped this low?” Kindiki said in Meru, accusing Gachagua of inciting the region.

Ruku, too, has been professionally and politically active, sparing little chance to attack Gachagua, whom he criticises as a tribal bigot.

“They are only full of hate and incitement, who only think of Kenya as belonging to a few,” Ruku recently said of Gachagua and his allies.

Kabogo, too, has occasionally gone on the offensive. However, observers warn that the region's Ruto allies will struggle to win over Mt Kenya for Ruto despite their united efforts.

“Ruto did not understand Mt Kenya: the people don’t follow the leaders, it’s the leaders to follow them,” Gitile Naituli, a lecturer of leadership and management, said of Ruto’s appointment of the CSs to advance his political cause.

“The CSs understand that, and that is why they don’t even try,” he added.

Dr Ng’ang’a argued that the new entrants, singling out Kagwe, Kabogo and Kinyanjui, would offer the President no help as they were “political rejects.”

“There is nothing they can add to Ruto, and that is why they say nothing,” he said.