Ichung'wah vs Gachagua: The slippery climb to Mt Kenya political summit

National Assembly Majority Leader and Kikuyu Member of Parliament Kimani Ichung'wah has been going after Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua's jugular as tensions continue to rise on the murky politics of the Mt Kenya region.

For weeks now, Ichung'wah has been making fiery statements against "leaders who seek to segregate a nation based on tribe, colour, religion" whom he has linked to the political clamour in the region.

This comes amid rumours that DP Gachagua has been rallying leaders from the region for his support, claiming that there is a scheme by some individuals to convince President William Ruto to throw him under the political bus.

Gachagua has even warned that 'rebel leaders' from the region who will not heed his unity call by December will face the wrath of their voters.

“By this year December, the decision would have been made on who will be coming back and who is going home,” Gachagua said during a wedding in Kiambu county on August 11.

“After December, you cannot change anything. For those who have lost track, you have until December to get back on track."

His sentiments have even invited ridicule from Ruto who has called for the desist of spreading the politics of ethnicity and embracing national unity.

"I have been in politics for a long time and I understand the dangers of divisive politics based on ethnicity. I urge you to not walk on the slippery road of dividing Kenyans based on tribal affiliations," said Ruto on June 2, while attending a church service in Bungoma County.

"Let us focus our attention on the transformation of Kenya and not the division of Kenya. I urge all leaders to go that direction."

Amid the censure, Ichung'wah has joined the political clobber against the DP, seemingly fingering him for endorsing divisive politics in the nation.

During the homecoming ceremony of Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi on August 29, Ichung'wah spoke against leaders who propagate segregative politics.

"Never again shall we allow leaders for their own selfish and sectarian interests to divide our people on the basis of where they come from or the political parties they are affiliated to," he said.

This was a day after he scoffed at leaders who 'set traps' for opposition leader Raila Odinga to bar him from accessing Ruto's government, noting that their efforts shall not yield to anything.

"Is there anyone who can set traps for Baba? If you think you can set traps for Baba you will realise you have trapped yourself," said Ichung'wah.

His statement was a prompt response to DP Gachagua who said, speaking to Kikuyu stations from his Karen home on August 4, that he removed the "traps" after noticing that his boss appeared to be reuniting with his former political foe.

According to Gachagua, so effective were his traps that the first time President Ruto met Odinga was in Uganda, many miles away from the House on the Hill.

"My boss and I had agreed we set up traps so that Raila does not join the government through the backdoor, I would check the traps every morning and evening," said Gachagua.

"I would constantly check the traps to see whether they had captured anything."

Ichung'wah's unswerving hunt for the second-in-command still gained pace after he accused him and his allies of undermining regional development.

In an undated video, Ichung'wah was seen accusing "those in power" of sabotaging key reforms in the tea, coffee, and milk sectors, suggesting their actions are aimed to discredit Ruto’s administration.

"I will fight state capture by those who are in power today, those want to impeverish the people of Mt. Kenya by demanding Ksh.3 per kilo of coffee sold from our region by demanding that all the tea sold from this region must go through their brokerages so that you enrich yourself at the expense of the people," said Ichung'wah.

Ichung'wah further, after being dared by lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi to reveal the names of those he is linking to his statements, said that there is an individual who is known for crippling a raft of reforms.

"My Brother @ahmednasirlaw, you know he who has only worked to create new state capture in this administration and imagines he can use ethnic based politics to use a region’s people as cover for the same capture," Ichung'wah responded on X.

"Ask around who has stalled tea auctions also and stalled milk sector reforms. Anajijua tu & you know him."

DP Gachagua has been at the forefront of implementing reforms outlined in President Ruto’s Executive Order No. 1 of January 2023.

The executive order tasked Gachagua with overseeing the Coffee Sub-Sector Reforms Implementation Standing Committee, a role that has become increasingly contentious.

Meanwhile, several Mt Kenya leaders mostly allied to President Ruto have vowed they will not succumb to what they called ‘Gachagua’s threats’.

The defiance comes despite the DP’s escalated political activities and efforts to ‘unite’ the region.

Laikipia East MP Mwangi Kiunjuri has previously termed Gachagua’s efforts to solidify the region as an illusion.