President William Ruto has dispatched his Cabinet ministers from Mount Kenya to take on impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua in the battle for the region’s political loyalty.
On Monday, Lands CS Alice Wahome took the fight to her home turf in Kandara, Murang’a county, where she launched a scathing attack on Gachagua.
A visibly agitated Wahome dared the former DP to a political duel, accusing him of frustrating her despite her restraint during his time in office and even after his impeachment.
“The former Deputy President’s work is to keep provoking others. Don’t try me. I don’t fear him,” Wahome told a charged crowd in Muruka, Kandara.
“Now that he has crossed my line, is it now myself against him?”
Her remarks were in response to Gachagua’s Sunday visit to the region, where he claimed Wahome had lost her voice in government and was being sidelined by Ruto.
But Wahome dismissed the claims as an attempt to undermine her position.
“If he wants to speak, let him speak about himself. I have a mouth, I am a lawyer, and I know where I am and where I am going,” she declared, insisting she remains firmly in government.
She further accused Gachagua of acting in bad faith for making the remarks in her backyard.
“The bitterness he came with here is not from someone who supports you but from someone who wants to sabotage me in my work, especially saying those remarks in my home area,” Wahome said.
“Let each person have their say. I wouldn’t have spoken about him, but I think it is my right to respond.”
Gachagua was back in the region on Sunday in a meet-the-people tour just days after President William Ruto hosted a delegation of leaders and residents from Murang’a on Friday.
On September 12, Trade CS Lee Kinyanjui warned Mt Kenya residents against the one-term push led by Gachagua, saying it risks excluding them from the national cake sharing.
Speaking in Embu, a key support base for Gachagua, he said residents cannot be singing the one-term song and expect to enjoy infrastructure and government appointments.
"You want your roads done, you want other things done, and at the same time, you are singing one-term. What kind of politics is that?” Kinyanjui said.
He said he’d had a lot of respect for the politics of the region, but was beginning to rethink.
“I come from a region where we have popularised stupid songs, stupid clarion calls, and we will be sitting in big meetings seeing money and resources going to other regions.”
PROJECTS APPROACH
Still at it, the Ruto camp is also demonstrating to residents that it is delivering on its pledges by launching and commissioning projects in the region.
Kinyanjui inspected the County Aggregation Parks in Embu and Meru, while Public Service CS Geoffrey Ruku was in Embu, where he inspected the ongoing construction of the Muvakari-Kanyuambora and Kanyuambora-Kamumu-Kageeri roads in Mbeere North.
Ruku also outlined the various ongoing government projects, including roads, water and irrigation schemes, and rural electricity connection.
The CS said the government has already invested nearly Sh5 billion in infrastructure in the region.
In a veiled attack on the former DP, Ruku criticised opposition leaders over empty rhetoric and political quarrels instead of focusing on tangible development.
“This is a government of the people, by the people and for economic transformation. Kenyans must not be misled into abandoning progress for empty promises,” Ruku said.
PSs Mary Muthoni (Public Health), Alex Wachira (Energy) and Patrick Mariru have also been launching projects and engaging residents in the restive region, convincing them that they remain a priority for the Ruto administration.
Wachira commissioned the Kiolo Village Electrification Project in Igembe North constituency, saying the project has connected 216 households, enhancing learning, powering livelihoods and driving socio-economic transformation.
He also launched the Kinisa Mariri Village Electrification Project and the Solar Street Lighting Programme in Laare Town, Igembe North.
He was accompanied by PS Patrick Kilemi (Cooperatives) and the area MP Julius Taitum.
Muthoni also led a group of leaders from the region in a public engagement forum in Embu county last weekend, highlighting Ruto's interventions in the health sector.
Mariru launched a new regional office Block for the Office of the Auditor General, accompanied by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu and Mbarire.
He noted that the project is a reflection of the government’s commitment to equitable infrastructure development and national transformation through inter-agency collaboration.
The President also hosted elected leaders from Nyeri county on September 4, where Mathira MP Eric Wamumbi said infrastructure projects were the key agenda.
Among those in attendance were MPs Dunn Maina (Nyeri Town), Wambugu Wainaina (Othaya), Rahab Mukami (Woman Rep), Njoroge Wainaina (Kieni) and Senator Wahome Wamatinga.
“The President has once again assured us of his full commitment to transforming the lives of our people through tangible, people-centred projects,” Wamumbi, who represents Gachagua’s home constituency, said.
“This is why it is important for us to remain steadfast in government, where real solutions are being implemented, and not be swayed by empty rhetoric from the opposition that adds no value to our people.”
Since then, the MPs have been engaging in joint public engagement forums and launching projects as “a result of the meeting with the President”.
