Mt Kenya unity drive pits Karua against Gachagua amid 2027 talk

Narc Kenya party leader Martha Karua. She is rallying Mt Kenya to speak in one voice. [Samson Wire, Standard] Mt Kenya leaders in the government and the opposition now seem to have an urge to preach unity or unite the region, but each side is doing it their own way. Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has been rallying Mt Kenya to speak in one voice so as to secure their space in government and now Narc Kenya party leader Martha Karua and Jubilee Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni through their outfit, Kamwene Unity Forum, are also spearheading the same initiative. Repeatedly, Karua and Kioni said they would champion the interests of the region through Kamwene. Although the Jubilee Secretary General announced on Monday that Kamwene is open to all leaders regardless of their political affiliation, he ruled out working with President William Ruto's political camp in 2027 and instead said the group will front its presidential candidate. While maintaining that they were firmly in Azimio, Kioni said Kamwene was an alternative voice for Mt Kenya region. At the Monday gathering, Karua dismissed Gachagua's unity bid saying his efforts would not stop them from rallying Mt Kenya to speak in one voice. "I have not heard of his (Gachagua) efforts but if he is doing it well and good, let everybody do it. The fact that one farmer is planting can't stop you from planting," she said. Former Laikipia Governor Ndiritu Muriithi revealed that Kamwene was also organising politically. But pundits believe Karua and his team could be trying to establish a formidable force in the region that they will use in 2027 to demand for a say in Azimio or in the Kenya Kwanza Alliance. "It's a tactic to maintain political relevance in a double-edged manner, to demand for their recognition in Azimio and Kenya Kwanza," said Charles Njoroge, a political scientist. Bi-partisan talks Njoroge observed that Kamwene was only formed when no Mt Kenya leader was considered in the bipartisan talks by the Azimio side but after push and pull, Kioni's name found its way to the technical team. Over the weekend, Gachagua held a meeting with more than 60 MPs and former MPs and the Nyeri oligarchs where he reiterated his calls for unity while defending government policies. The DP, who struck a reconciliatory tone, maintained that the calls for unity was for the benefit of Mt Kenya region as he seeks to leverage their numbers to secure President Ruto's tenure. "Political competition is behind us and what we are doing as a government is to ensure that we mobilise our capacities towards building Kenya," he said. Last Saturday, during the Mt Kenya Golf Festival tournament at the Nyeri Golf Club, the DP asked the business community to join efforts to build a better Kenya saying "our numbers mean we are the primary beneficiaries when things go well and primary casualties when things go wrong". Jubilee Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni and Narc Kenya party leader Martha Karua. [Samson Wire, Standard] The meeting was attended by Governors Irungu Kangata (Murang'a), Mutahi Kahiga (Nyeri) Muthomi Njuki (Tharaka Nithi) and Joshua Irungu (Laikipia), MPs and Senators. Former Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu who was the harshest critic of the Kenya Kwanza coalition is among the leaders who have now turned into Gachagua's defender. While clarifying that the DP was not rallying the region around him, Wambugu, who attended the event, said he was doing so at the behest of the president noting that the unity bid will ensure the region's interests are "front and center throughout in the government." "It is the unity of this region that will guarantee President Ruto his full two terms and that is why a united region is an advantage to the President. Internally we shall challenge each other to do better and externally leverage our strength," he said. Azimio factor Meanwhile, a section Azimio leader Raila Odinga's allies believe the decision by Mt Kenya leaders to create Kamwene will be a boost for the coalition. They argued that this part of a strategy to strengthen Azimio by focusing on grassroots support and to counter Gachagua's Mt Kenya unity drive. ODM Chairman John Mbadi said Azimio members are free to decide what they want to do in their regions to strengthen grassroots support as long as its in the best interest of the unity of the coalition. "I hope the agenda would be to work with other Kenyans and not to have an agenda that would omit other Kenyans," Mbadi says. He noted that in the past, the unity call for Mount Kenya has been misused to push leaders down the throats of Kenyans because of their numerical strength. He claimed that Gachagua is leading a similar drive. "If that unity is meant to unite with other Kenyans to achieve a better objective of the country and good leadership it will be fine. But if it is just to protect the interest of one community and give them leverage in terms of numbers then it will not be right," he said. Some sources intimated to The Standard that uncertainty over Azimio's future and the outcome of the bipartisan talks could also be the reason behind the change of strategy by some members. - Additional reporting by Anne Atieno

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