The tactics to hunt for the votes comes as Former DP Rigathi Gachagua seeks to ring fence Mt Kenya region terming Ruto as a traitor following his impeachment.
The plan involves subdividing Mt Kenya into various voter blocs in order to counter the influence of the United Opposition coalition in the area.
In 2022, President Ruto received 87% of votes from the Mt Kenya region nearly half of all the votes that secured his victory.
However, since then, his relationship with the region has deteriorated, leading to hostility, heckling during public events, and divisions within the ruling UDA party, which previously won more than 95% of seats in the region.
The biggest source of the rift is the ouster of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who was removed from office in October last year after serving for only two years.
Mr. Gachagua has since launched his own party, the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP), describing it as a Mt Kenya political vehicle meant to block President Ruto’s re-election in 2027.
He is now seen as a major threat to President Ruto’s 2027 ambitions both in Mt Kenya and at the national level.
Gachagua has joined hands with opposition leaders, including Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, DAP-K leader Eugene Wamalwa, Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya, Jubilee deputy party leader Fred Matiang’i, and Kajiado Senator Kerrar Seki, to form the “Wantam” movement.
The movement seeks to unite different regions across the country to oppose President Ruto in 2027, with Gachagua emerging as a central pillar of the opposition alliance.
He has repeatedly claimed that President Ruto is scheming to divide Mt Kenya by supporting multiple loyal political parties, funding county-level community spokespeople, and using money and food donations as political bait.
Because of this, President Ruto’s allies say they have vowed to contain Gachagua in Mt Kenya, insisting that the region is the source of his political strength.
On his part, Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku said, “It is better for Mt Kenya to split than for that unity to throw us out of government.”
He said the UDA victory in the Mbeere North by-election on November 27, 2025, renewed their confidence.
In a region with more than four million registered voters, Ruku believes that about 47% of the votes could come from other parts of Mt Kenya, giving President Ruto around two million votes.
“We begin with Mt Kenya East — Meru, Tharaka Nithi, Embu and parts of Kirinyaga. This is our base for launching the battle,” he said.
Laikipia East MP Mwangi Kiunjuri, who is coordinating Ruto’s Mt Kenya strategy, said the plan is already “more than 10% implemented.”
He added that political parties supporting President Ruto will soon begin holding National Governing Council meetings to declare their backing for his 2027 bid.
According to him, if 300 top leaders each influence about 4,000 supporters, “we shall add more than 1.2 million votes” for President Ruto.
However, Kikuyu Council of Elders chairman Wachira Kiago cautioned that “these schemes are games of power being played at the expense of the people.”
He said Mt Kenya must remain alert to attempts to divide the region for short-term political gain.
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