Homecoming or reckoning? President Ruto meets Mt. Kenya leaders ahead of planned return

President William Ruto on Thursday met legislators from the Mt. Kenya counties at State House, Nairobi, ahead of his planned tour of the region.

According to the Head of State's official communication via X, the talks included revamping the agricultural sector in coffee, tea and dairy farming, infrastructure development, affordable housing and fresh produce markets, among others.

President Ruto was quoted stating that the constant consultation with elected leaders provides the best platform for deliberation on and consequently implementing transformative development programmes that benefit the citizens.

This will be the President’s first tour of the Mt. Kenya region since the fallout with, and subsequent impeachment of, his former deputy Rigathi Gachagua.

Gachagua has, since then, been on a warpath with his former boss, accusing President Ruto of betraying him and the region at large.

When Ruto became Kenya’s fifth President, he was the darling of the Mt. Kenya people, having presumably dethroned former President Uhuru Kenyatta, an amalgamation that would be short-lived.

He loved the locals and the locals loved him back. He frequently greeted them in the Kikuyu dialect “Mwathani agocwo and Ngai ni mwega.” (Praise God, and God is good.)

The bond culminated in Ruto’s decisive victory over Raila, Uhuru’s preferred presidential candidate in the 2022 polls. The election also saw Ruto allies sweep key elective seats, including ward representatives, and parliamentary, senatorial and gubernatorial seats.

With this victory, Ruto declared himself as the political supremo of Mt. Kenya. He installed himself as the defacto kingpin of the vote-rich region. He referred to Uhuru and Raila as outsiders.

Ruto’s political honeymoon was however short-lived when he introduced the unpopular Finance Bill, 2024 that sought to introduce unsavoury taxes in various sectors of the economy.

The Bill triggered nationwide protests fronted by youthful Kenyans, also known as the Gen-Z.

Facing mounting pressure from young Kenyans, Ruto was forced to dismiss his entire Cabinet save for Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi.

He then, like two presidents before him – Uhuru and the late Daniel Toroitich arap Moi - turned to his political nemesis, Raila Odinga for political buttress which paved the way for a ‘broad-based government.

The pact, however, failed to cure division in government as the relationship between President Ruto and Gachagua soured.

The duo, who braved State intimidation and threats to ascent to power, were now not seeing eye to eye, leading to Gachagua's impeachment on October 9, 2024.

Ruto accused Gachagua of undermining him, dividing the country along tribal lines and fomenting chaos in government.

“I have become a lonely voice in the presidency, speaking about our projects and programmes. My brother Kindiki, you are eloquent and intelligent. I am confident that you will do that which I have missed for the last two years,” President Ruto said on November 1, 2024, during the swearing-in of Kithure Kindiki as the third deputy president.

The result of Gachagua’s impeachment was swift and somehow killed any embers of love that he had left in the region.

Largely unpopular countrywide because of his high taxation and lack of notable development, Ruto still thought the Murima (mountain) people had the same love they had for him when they voted for him overwhelmingly.

Any denial he had about his relationship with the Murima people was crushed on November 16, 2024, when he received a hostile reception in Embu during the consecration and installation of Bishop Peter Kimani Ndung'u at the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) Mukangu.

Embu County became the political bellwether county of other Mt. Kenya counties as any hostility would have been expected from Nyeri, Gachagua's backyard.

But here was Embu, a largely docile political ground that loudly expressed raw rage and emotions showing how the entire area felt.

On November 24, 2024, mourners rejected a condolence message from DP Kindiki during the funeral service of nominated ward representative Mark Gicheru Wainaina in Murang’a County.

This denied Governor Irungu Kang’ata the chance to read Ruto’s condolence message and instead delivered it privately to the grieving family to avoid heckling from the furious mourners.

Ruto suffered a similar fate in absentia on January 3, 2025, during the burial of Eric Mutugi, son of former Embu Senator Lenny Kivuti, when mourners shouted down Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi as he prepared to read Ruto's condolence message.

Amid rejection and political onslaught from Gachagua, Ruto ceased 'facing the mountain' and instead turned to Nyanza for a political lifeline.