PS Wachira rebukes CS Ruku over calls to split Mt Kenya, says region’s unity is non-negotiable
PS Wachira message was unequivocal that the larger Mt Kenya region remains indivisible, and leaders should focus on development and inclusivity rather than reopening old political and ethnic fault lines.
Energy Principal Secretary Alex Wachira has publicly rebuked Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku over calls to politically split the Mt Kenya region, insisting that the larger mountain has remained united through successive administrations and should not be fractured for short-term political expediency.
Speaking in Nyeri, Wachira dismissed Ruku’s suggestion that Mt Kenya East counties should chart a separate political path from their counterparts in Mt Kenya West, terming the remarks divisive and contrary to the region’s historical trajectory.
“Speaking in public and calling for the region to be split; that one we reject, reject and reject in broad daylight,” Wachira said.
The PS was responding to remarks made by Ruku during a church service at AIPCA St Dominic KK Mau in Igembe Central, Meru County, where the Cabinet Secretary argued that leaders from Meru and Embu had for decades been politically sidelined by their counterparts from Central Kenya.
Ruku claimed that communities from Mt Kenya East had played a critical role during the Mau Mau struggle and in Kenya’s liberation but had not received commensurate recognition from leaders in Mt Kenya West. He further contended that politicians from the Kikuyu community often relied on support from Meru and Embu during elections before abandoning the region once in office.
“The time has come; we divorce as a mountain because if you do not support our son Kithure Kindiki and we have supported you all along, then clearly let’s split the mountain,” Ruku said.
However, Wachira countered that the history of leadership in Kenya demonstrates that the Mt Kenya region has traditionally thrived through political cohesion rather than fragmentation.
He pointed to the administration of former President Mwai Kibaki, noting that leaders from Meru and Embu occupied influential positions at the apex of government.
“Mheshimiwa Ruku, I listened to you keenly yesterday. I want to remind you that Mwai Kibaki was in power and he hailed from Nyeri. The person he appointed as Head of Public Service, Francis Muthaura, was from Meru. The Finance Minister was Daudi Mwiraria and the Energy Minister was Kiraitu Murungi, both from Meru, while Embu’s Njeru Ndwiga served as Cooperative Development Minister,” Wachira said.
The PS maintained that the Mt Kenya political formation has historically remained intact under the administrations of founding President Jomo Kenyatta, former President Mwai Kibaki and retired President Uhuru Kenyatta, arguing that leaders should preserve that legacy rather than exploit emerging succession politics to create fault lines.
His sentiments mirror positions repeatedly advanced by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and retired President Uhuru Kenyatta, both of whom have consistently urged leaders from the larger Mt Kenya bloc to safeguard regional unity despite changing political alliances.
The exchange exposes growing tensions within President William Ruto’s political camp as leaders position themselves ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The debate has intensified following Gachagua’s impeachment in 2024 and the elevation of Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, with competing factions now seeking to shape the future political direction of the vote-rich region.
