Why Ruto's Mt Kenya region allies are rocking UDA boat

Kikuyu MP and Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah's brand of chest-thumping politics risks eroding the goodwill the President needs in Mt Kenya region. [Fole, Standard] .

Two weeks ago, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua watched his support in Mt Kenya weaken as President William Ruto’s camp launched a well-coordinated, widely publicised offensive against the Opposition, highlighting Gachagua’s waning influence in the region.

The DCP leader had just lost two acerbic surrogates — Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba and her Juja counterparts George Koimbori — who had turned out to be vociferous critics, and with their hyped exit, Rigathi appeared gravely exposed.

This took place just days after the President visited Nyeri and Laikipia counties, and even conducted grassroots elections, in his bid to regain support from a community that gave him about 40 per cent of his 2022 presidential vote but later withdrew its backing due to unmet promises and fallout with Gachagua.

But on Monday, as the Head of State welcomed United Democratic Alliance leaders to State House, hoping to score political points, his administration found itself under fire, and he was accused of orchestrating a violent church attack in Othaya, where police and goons unleashed live bullets and tear gas on his former deputy.

The attack left women and children caught in the crossfire, thrusting the President’s allies, Mathira MP Eric Wamumbi and his wife, Muranga Woman Rep Betty Maina, into the spotlight as they faced accusations of orchestrating the violence.

As a result, the President’s recent political gains appeared to have been erased overnight, after he came under fire from the Opposition, the Church, and Kenyans, especially in Mt Kenya, over allegations of presiding over a brutal regime that silences dissent with force.

Amid this storm that has turned and subjected the government into a situation of public shame, Gachagua stepped back into the spotlight, drawing a wave of public sympathy after enduring his twelfth attack since leaving office.

President William Ruto mingles with wananchi at Kisumu's Jomo Kenyatta Stadium on Feb 2, 2026. [PCS]

President Ruto now faces growing fire, as critics argue his State House meeting to showcase Wamuchomba and Koimburi as his newest allies against Gachagua fell flat after mainstream and social media were buzzed with talk of the Othaya attack, overshadowing his political play. 

The President’s key allies have also been accused of overshadowing him by taking credit for his work in the region, including roads and markets, and other national government projects in the constituencies, even as the electorate continues to accuse him of non-performance.

Political commentators have cautioned the President that some of the actions by his allies in Parliament and government are only serving to undermine him politically, particularly in Mt Kenya, arguing that their unchecked arrogance keeps stealing the spotlight from his own political strategies.

Political analyst Antony Ikonya said some of the President’s key lieutenants in the Mt Kenya region, who are already unpopular, appear determined to do the damage for him, arguing that instead of operating as a disciplined political team, they have chosen to rock the boat from within with their rogue behaviour. 

Ikonya pointed at Kikuyu MP and Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah, Wamumbi, Thika Town MP Alice Ngang’a, Murang’a Woman Rep Betty Maina and Kiambaa MP Njuguna Wanjiku and their associates, who he said brand of chest-thumping politics steadily erodes the goodwill the President needs in Mt Kenya region.

President William Ruto mingles with wananchi at Kisumu's Jomo Kenyatta Stadium on Feb 2, 2026. [PCS]

“Their pronouncements are often abrasive, poorly thought out and politically careless. In the process, they are quietly but effectively robbing President Ruto of political credit and goodwill, the President has to decide whether he wants to win back the Mt Kenya vote or continue pleasing politically undisciplined surrogates who use his meetings in the region to push personal vendettas and sabotage his efforts to reconnect with the community,” he said.

Pundits argue the MPs’ treatment of the President resembles a murderer who, after committing the crime, frames an innocent bystander by smearing them with blood and abandoning the weapon on their feet, forcing the blameless to bear the consequences based only on circumstantial evidence.

 And although Ruto’s Mt Kenya visit was largely peaceful, most of his foot soldiers have been facing harsh hostility as they drummed up support for the President.

 Ichung’wah, who pundits say should unify Central Kenya for the President, has become a polarising figure whose conduct has hurt his own and the President’s popularity.

Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and President William Ruto arrive at Kisumu's Jomo Kenyatta Stadium on Feb 2, 2026. [PCS]

The Kikuyu MP has faced embarrassment three times in Kiambu, Ol Kalau, and Murang’a after being heckled during rallies attended by the President, with analysts now questioning how he and the MPs he leads can help the President regain popularity.

 In Muranga, Woman Rep Maina faces harsh criticism from locals over her actions, while neighbouring Nyeri County, Wamumbi, also finds his popularity slipping, despite both being viewed as the President’s trusted allies in their regions.

 “Their grassroots appeal has thinned, and their re-election prospects look uncertain. How can leaders who are struggling to maintain their own political relevance be expected to sell the President’s agenda effectively?” Ikonya posed.