Ruto faces cold reception in his Mt Kenya ‘development’ tour amid intense lobbying

A cold reception awaits President William Ruto as he makes a weeklong ‘development tour’ of the restive vote rich Mount Kenya region next week after months characterised by mistrust by the locals since last year’s unceremonious removal of his former ally-turned political foe Rigathi Gachagua through impeachment as Deputy President.

This will be the first time the president will be venturing into the vote-rich Central Kenya bastion for the better part of a year since the impeachment of his former DP Gachagua who has since been replaced by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki.

Besides Gachagua’s removal, key political realignments have taken shape sidelining the ruling UDA party in the region that helped propel Ruto to power, including the purge from key positions of individuals formerly close to the president including Kiharu legislator Ndindi Nyoro’s recent ouster as Parliamentary Budget Committee Chair.

Also, Ruto’s visit to Central Kenya also comes in the wake of his fallout with immediate former Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi whom he dismissed from the position and replaced him with Mbeere North MP Geoffrey Ruku.

Muturi’s sacking which many observers saw as long overdue on account of the frosty relationship with his boss, is likely to see him join the opposition brigade of Gachagua and Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka.

But even the political leadership in the mountain region is sharply divided ahead of Ruto’s visit, with those who support him retreating back to the villages to rally the people to welcome the President.

The pro-Ruto politicians say the visit will be a chance for the region to demand fulfilment of development pledges including construction of roads and other infrastructure.

On the other hand, those allied to Gachagua maintain that Ruto’s visit will neither boost his political fortunes in the area nor change the people’s perception of betrayal by his administration.

A number of politicians who are supporters of Gachagua have expressed their displeasure with the Kenya Kwanza administration’s decision to kick out leaders from the area from key parliamentary leadership positions.

Murang’a Senator Joe Nyutu, a staunch ally of the former DP, says the President may have to explain what the region did to him to deserve the purge on its leaders and alienation.

“After voting for Ruto overwhelmingly and making him President, is this how he is thanking us by removing those who supported him from various positions?” posed Nyutu.

The Kiharu legislator, once a close ally to President Ruto prior to the removal of Gachagua as second in command, and other parliamentarians from Mt Kenya, suffered a major blow when they lost their committee leadership and membership slots in both the National Assembly and the Senate over their association with Gachagua, popularly known as ‘Riggy G’.

This has gone further to fuel bad blood between residents and Ruto’s administration, coming at a time when the President decided to embrace his former political foe and opposition leader Raila Odinga, in the process sharing Cabinet and other senior administrative positions in government.

Speaking to The Informer Media Group, Juja Member of Parliament (MP) George Koimburi, another ardent follower of Gachagua, on his views on the impending presidential tour, he maintained that he is not opposed to development activities and said he supports the visit only on those grounds.

“However, I am not for the idea of posing with the President in public for the sake of political expediency. We have been listening to the ground and we know what our people want,” Koimburi said.

However, Ruto political troops in the region including MPs Eric Wamumbi (Mathira), Njoroge Wainaina (Kieni), John Mutunga (Tigania East), Faith Gitau Nyandarua Woman Representative) and her Embu counterpart Njoki Njeru are mobilising locals to give the president a warm welcome.

Njeru, popularly known as ‘Double N’ is urging the electorate and politicians to give the President time to deliver on his pre-election promises.

“I am urging our people to tone down the political rhetoric. Embu has of late become like the headquarters of heckling and booing leaders,

“There is no point of fighting our national leader all the time even when he brings development to our area,” she said in local TV breakfast show this week.

It is noteworthy that Ruto has previously faced hostility in Embu while attending the consecration of a Catholic Bishop in the diocese last year, when members of the congregation shouted him down as he delivered his speech at the event also attended by retired President Uhuru Kenyatta who was warmly received.

Recently the president, in a thinly veiled jab at Muturi, accused him of being “fairly incompetent” when serving as Attorney General previously, before later relieving him of his CS position.

He who was re-appointed following the dismissal of Ruto’s first cabinet at the height of the Gen-Z- led anti-government protests, has had a bruising relationship with his boss ever since he issued a statement condemning the illegal abductions and killings of youths as an aftermath.

Muturi whose son was once abducted and held incommunicado by state security agents, disclosed to the media that he sought President Ruto’s intervention to have the young man released.

Muturi, the former CS who also served as Mbeere North MP and ex-Speaker of the National Assembly has been overtly critical of the Ruto administration, particularly on issues to do with human rights violations.

At one-time late last year, Muturi while representing Ruto at a burial ceremony in Embu was forced to cut short his address after mourners shouted they did not want him to read the President’s speech.

DP Kindiki is leading an advance team ahead of President Ruto’s visit next week seeking to pacify the region that has declared to cut political ties with the President Ruto’s led Kenya Kwanza administration despite propelling him to power during the August 2022 presidential polls.

While speaking on Thursday, March 27, 2025 while inspecting ongoing government-funded projects in Murang’a county including the Gikoe ESP Market in Mathioya constituency, the DP welcomed Ruto’s development tour of Mt Kenya saying it will be focused on development of the region assuring residents of the government’s interest in fulfilling promises made.

Kindiki said the tour will not be a political engagement but fully oriented on improving the lives of residents by ensuring faster implementation of projects and programmes geared to improve incomes for the locals.

“Next week the President will be here in Mt Kenya. And he is not coming to do politics. He is coming to open markets, ensure expansion of electricity connection programmes, inspect road and irrigation and other ongoing projects in the region,” DP said.

However, politicians allied to Gachagua has since dismissed the visit as inconsequential calling for more tangible results instead of political promises.