Closing ranks in the mountain: Karua, Gachagua unite to challenge Ruto ‘dictatorship’

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Narc Kenya Party Leader Martha Karua have hinted at plans to form a strong political alliance to unseat President William Ruto’s regime in 2027.

This comes after Gachagua on Saturday visited Karua at her home in Gichugu Constituency, Kirinyaga County, as the two vowed to recruit more political allies to liberate the country.

In what seemed like a deliberate attempt to make a strong statement, the former DP and his delegation went bearing gifts - several goats, sheep, and farm produce - a selection symbolic in Kikuyu culture, representing a quest for truce and new beginnings.

Gachagua was accompanied by his spouse, Dorcas Rigathi, and political allies for the Gichugu trip, where the two agreed to bury the hatchet and amalgamate a formidable political force to challenge President Ruto’s administration.

" Martha, we are proud of you, and I want to say that from the bottom of my heart, even as we were fighting, I was still admiring your leadership. I wish you were in our team. Now that we are together, we are going to form a formidable team with the rest of Kenyans,” said Gachagua.

Karua added, "When people determined to oppress a group regroup, people determined to liberate must regroup. That is why all Kenyans of goodwill must join hands. We must push back and get our rights."

Gachagua, now a strong critic of the government he served for two years, accused his former boss of running down the country while strongly condemning the increasing spate of abductions in the country.

"The country is on a downward spiral in matters of the economy, theft of public funds, corruption, intolerance, and depression. Since the time of the white colonialists, brutal as they were, they never went for our children. This is the first time that a government has gone for the children... our Gen Z. I want to encourage our children that they are on the right side of history,” Gachagua said.

"We are saying No to making Kenya the capital of abduction in East Africa. We must push back. Fear is not an option. Even if you are afraid, they will still come for you wherever you are hiding,” Karua added.

The leaders accused the Head of State of adopting what they described as a dictatorial style of leadership.

Karua said, "We will not allow you to graduate as a dictator. We will stop that graduation."

Gachagua on his part noted, "Once you neuter the opposition, you compromise the institutions of oversight. Since nature abhors a vacuum, another group will come up, and that is why the young people have come up to fill that gap."

Gachagua also absolved himself and his community from the "tribal politics" tag.

"We know he is unhappy, we know he is frustrated, we know he is bitter that our people have left him. But it is not us who rejected him. I told him not to touch the mountain, but he touched it. I told him the people of this region don’t like betrayal—he betrayed us. I told him the people of this region hate deception—he deceived us. This problem is his own doing. So frustrated as he is, bitter as he is, let him relax. Had we been tribal, we would not have voted for him and Raila. We would have gone for our own candidate, Waihiga Mwaure,” he said.

After his impeachment, the former Deputy President has been keen on making a political comeback, holding a series of meetings with leaders from various sectors at his Wamunyoro home in Nyeri County.

He has termed these meetings as consultative as he designs his political future. His strategy has drawn mixed reactions from political leaders in the region, with some challenging him to tone down the political rhetoric.

"For now, let us focus on delivering for the people. As leaders, let us demand from the government what they promised us. The time for forming political parties and playing politics will come,” Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki said.

Gachagua’s litmus test will perhaps be how to sustain this political momentum to 2027.