Is Ndindi Nyoro ready to take on DP Gachagua for Mt Kenya kingpinship?

Nature abhors a vacuum and so every politician big or small tried to take up the space and be the Mt Kenya leader. Politically, the most senior person from the region is Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and many expected that he would fill the vacuum and take over the kingship but that has not seemingly materialised.

Other senior leaders from the region have also been looked at but nothing has progressed as far as the leadership of the vote-rich block goes.

There is Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah, East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA) Member of Parliament Kanini Kega, a host of governors, Senators and loud MPs have failed to register a mark on the regional political Richter scale.

Even former Mungiki leader Maina Njenga has claimed he is the kingpin but those claims were largely ignored and people moved on.

So the Mt Kenya supremacy battle continues but it is starting to take shape with the recent push by a section of UDA politicians fronting Kiharu Member of Parliament Ndindi Nyoro.

The youthful, charming politico is now deemed as Mr Gachagua's real threat as far as the Mt Kenya kingship is concerned.

Ndindi has always been seen as a formidable political force who can go all the way to State House and now, it seems, his time has come.

He has yet to accept the endorsement but he has not dismissed them yet which politically tells you everything you need to know.

The issue of who will be the next president has been simmering over the last year with Gachagua being rumoured to have started laying the groundwork for his eventual ascension when his boss Ruto retires. It is the exact same script Ruto deployed on his former boss turned foe, Kenyatta.

The sentiments attracted the ire of Gachagua who dismissed the succession talks as an insult to Kenyans who expect service delivery.

“Let me say for the avoidance of doubt, I have only one focus as Gachagua, I am focused on one thing; assisting President William Ruto to succeed... hii ingine wengine wanafuata mambo mengine, mimi siko hapo... hata mpige kelele gani,” Gachagua said on January 16.

Political crystal ball watchers know the DP is not thinking ahead and testing the waters. Many say he does not want to spook his boss or colleagues who also have their eye on the house on the hill.

For his part, it is telling that the biggest noise about Ndindi's supremacy started at his own event when 15 MPs threw their support behind him to potentially succeed President William Ruto in 2032, should he secure a second term in office.

The legislators, drawn from various parts of the country, endorsed Nyoro on Friday, January 11 during an event held at Murang'a County's Mumbi Grounds.

"Tushikilie huyu ndugu yetu kwa sababu hapa Mt. Kenya region hatuna kiongozi ambaye anaweza tuongoza vizuri; yule yuko saa hii ni Ndindi Nyoro," Gatundu North MP Elijah Kururia said.

On Thursday, Murang'a Senator Joe Nyutu opined that Kiharu Member of Parliament Ndindi Nyoro is the ticket to President William Ruto's re-election in the 2027 General Election saying if President Ruto wants to win reelection in 2027, he should drop Gachagua and get Ndindi Nyoro.

"I think he (Nyoro) could be more popular, we are on the ground we listen to people, we hear what people think about each one of us. Ndindi has shown some very good social skills, a very good relationship with people and generally he has favour," said Nyutu.

38-year-old Nyoro has been one of Ruto's most powerful and vocal supporters and has endorsed all his projects saying the president has the best interest of the country at heart.

In the run to the 2022 General Election, Ndindi also never shied away from selling the president and telling off his political elders. He maintained a vehement pneuma to have Ruto clinch the nation's top seat.

When Ruto took over the reins of power in 2022, Nyoro, despite being an MP, was seen flanking the president and was presumed to have been yielding more power by different quotas.

Political analysts argue that Nyoro needs to "mature politically" and has a lot of learning to do to be bestowed a huge responsibility as the DP.

Leadership scorecard

Ndindi, who is the current Chairman of Budget and Appropriations Committee in the National Assembly, has been rated as among the best-performing MPs in Kenya.

According to a research poll released by Infotrak in November, MP Nyoro averaged a score of 70% topping the list of the top 10 performing MPs and also young MPs list in 2023.

He made huge strides in bolstering education in his constituency and on January 11, he unveiled an educational programme supported by Kiharu NG-CDF. 

The programme dubbed Masomo Bora, packed with mouth-watering goodies, aims to help all 62-day secondary schools in the constituency to ensure that all students in Kiharu have equal access to education.

Nyoro said that school fees in selected schools has been reduced to Ksh.1000 per term as part of a supplementary support programme and all schools in the constituency with fewer than 100 students will receive free full school uniforms for students joining Form 1. 

Students in the said schools will also benefit from a 6-day feeding programme which will include a daily portion of Uji and rice for 3 days a week as well as chapatis on the last Friday of every month. 

Form One students joining the twenty schools will also have their first-term fees paid in full by the constituency. 

Detailing how the constituency spent its NG-CDF, Nyoro stated that some of the funds were used to renovate and tile all 112 schools in the area. 

He also vowed to award the best-improved school in each sub-county in Kahuro and Muranga East counties a five-day, all-expenses-paid trip to Dubai.

Also teachers for the best improved subjects per sub-county with a four-day will be fully sponsored trip to Kenya's coast.