The Mt Kenya Times 
Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro
By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Worth Noting:
- Karanja stayed in office for less than one year. It is worth to note the political plot to hound him out of office had crafted by two lightweight politicians-Embakasi MP David Mwenje and the head of Motor Vehicle Inspection Unit Kuria Kanyingi. Just like DP Gachagua, he had downplayed the threat posed by the duo.
- The name of President Moi was dragged into this matter. However, there was no tangible evidence that he was behind this plot or rather sponsored it.
- Ndindi, Gachagua supremacy battle took a new turn a few days ago when Ndindi hosted more than 20 Kenya Kwanza members of parliament drawn from different parts of the country in his Kiharu constituency.
I have been following keenly the supremacy battle for Mount Kenya Kingpin pitting Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro.
Gachagua have been taking this matter lightly. He believes that he is the most-senior politician from region.
To him, Ndindi is a light weight and hence he does not pose any threat to him. If I were him, I would take a different approach.
I want to remind him about the famous words of former powerful Attorney General the late Charles Njonjo. He once said that politics is a dirty game.
You may think that today you are very powerful but you never know what will happen tomorrow.
Njonjo uttered these words after falling out with President Daniel Arap Moi.
He never thought that this can happen. This is because he was a close ally and confidant of President Moi.
Former Vice President Josphat Karanja had also suffered fate. After Moi fell out with his Vice President Mwai Kibaki, he pointed Doctor Karanja to this position.
Karanja stayed in office for less than one year. It is worth to note the political plot to hound him out of office had crafted by two lightweight politicians-Embakasi MP David Mwenje and the head of Motor Vehicle Inspection Unit Kuria Kanyingi. Just like DP Gachagua, he had downplayed the threat posed by the duo.
The name of President Moi was dragged into this matter. However, there was no tangible evidence that he was behind this plot or rather sponsored it.
Ndindi, Gachagua supremacy battle took a new turn a few days ago when Ndindi hosted more than 20 Kenya Kwanza members of parliament drawn from different parts of the country in his Kiharu constituency.
The MPs showered him with accolades. Ndindi’s track record on matters of development, peace and unity speaks for itself.
Former Secretary General of KNUT and ODM nominated MP Wilson Sosian set the ball rolling. He noted that Ndindi was a presidential material.
I want to assure you the people of Muranga that Ndindi was poised to succeed President Ruto in 2032 when he completes his second term in office. You can take this to the bank.
Soon after this event, a section of the politicians started peddling unfounded rumors that President William Ruto was sponsoring Ndindi’s campaigns. They would not produce an iota of evidence to support their claims.
This is not the first time that the name of the head of state would dragged into premature 2032 succession politics.
Sometimes back Kakamega senator Bonny Khalwale had made similar claims. This happened during Dr Ruto’s visit to the region.
He alleged that President Ruto had held a closed door meeting with the leaders of Mulembe nation at Kakamega State Lodge. We managed to convince him to support the candidature of ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi in 2032.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is not suitable for the position of the President. We want to tell him to forget it. President Ruto will pass the baton to Mudavadi, Khalwale added.
But in a swift rejoinder, Dr Ruto dismissed and denounced his remarks. It is premature and too early to talk about 2032 succession. We are here to launch and commission development projects. This is in line with promises we made during the campaigns.
I’m not holding brief for the President but I’m persuaded to believe that his position is the same. This is regard to Ndindi’s political game plan for the Mount Kenya region.
Though Gachagua is arguably the senior-most leader, the recent developments have shown that his popularity was dwindling.
Ndindi’s political star was on the other hand rising very fast.
I have been listening to the views of the Kikuyus living in Githurai and in my rural area.
Well, DP Gachagua curves a niche of being a truthful and a God-fearing man. So, with due respect, I want to let him know this.
Majority of them do not believe in him. To drive the point home, they would revisit his previous utterances and history.
You heard him likening Kenya to Shareholding Company. This was a reckless statement. They would also fault him for picking a war with Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja. His statement was divisive, callous and designed to put the Kikuyus into a collision course with rest of the Kenyan communities.
This is because Nairobi is the home to all the 45 communities of Kenya.
Others would allege that Gachagua was only considering his home county of Nyeri for state appointments.
Some would recall the alleged ‘ills’ associated with him when he served as a ‘special’ District Officer (DO) during the era of President Daniel Arap Moi.
It is also worth noting that Gachagua was not the preferred choice of the majority of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) leaders from the Mountain for the position of the running mate. The final decision however lied with presidential candidate William Ruto. He settled on him.
Given this scenario, one would have expected Gachagua to immediately start healing the wounds after being sworn in as DP. It is widely believed that one year down the line he has failed to do this.
The Kikuyus opposed to him would aver that Kiharu MP Ndindi is the most suitable candidate to lead the Mountain.
Apart from being youthful and well educated, he is a development conscious leader and a unifier.
Besides, he has never been implicated in corruption or any other wrong-doing.
Ndindi’s track record of development in Kiharu is there for all to see.
The MPs and other elected leaders are travelling there for bench-marking.
The other day a renowned opinion poll firm rated him as the best performer in the country. This is on matters of development.
Matters of education are close to his heart. Ndindi have done a lot in terms of building new state-of-art classrooms and renovating the old ones.
He has also been spending part of money he receives from National Exchequer to build TVET colleges.
National Government-Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) is one of the kitties.
He moved a step further when he initiated a school feeding programme for the students in all day secondary schools in Kiharu constituency.
Dozens of MPs from across the country who attended this event showered him with praises.
Ndindi has demonstrated he is a servant of the people.
This places him as the best-suited to take up the mantle of Mount Kenya kingpin. We are definitely going to drum up support for him so that he can clinch the seat, most of the speakers stated.
Ndindi steered clear of this topic.
He did this a few days ago when he hosted a similar event. This time Ndindi, who was being flanked by 15 members of parliament, commissioned a new programme.
In this, the NG-CDF funds will cater for the school fees of the students in day schools in Kiharu. The parents will only pay Sh1,000 per term.
Again, speaker after speaker, showered him with accolades.
Those who had attended the earlier events stated: We told you that Honorable Ndindi Nyoro is a good, caring and down to earth leader.
As a pioneer, we have been inviting him to come to our regions to help us rollout similar projects. He is still ahead of us.
What lesson do we learn here? He is larger than life. Besides steering Mount Kenya to success and prosperity, he has the qualities of a national leader. You never know, he may succeed President William Ruto when he completes his two terms of 10 years in 2032.
At this juncture, allow me to say this. The opinion of the Mount Kenya residents particularly the Kikuyus is divided.
There are those who believe that former President Uhuru Kenyatta is still holding the mantle of kingpin.
For others, Uhuru is no longer a king. His tenure came to an end when he retired as the President.
They would also aver that he failed to champion their interest when he was at the helm. So, he cannot turn around and cast the image of holier-than-thou.
So, if he fall prey to those misleading him, we will once again shame him.
But supporters of Uhuru would argue that Ndindi and Gachagua will not go anywhere without his backing. They should look for Uhuru. The one who gets his nod will become the kingpin. But majority of them would prefer Ndindi to take up the mantle.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga Is A Writer And Political Analyst Based In Nairobi
Similar Posts by The Mt Kenya Times:
- Kenya designates JKIA Gate 16 for Ebola high-risk arrivals in sweeping border health overhaul
- Mbadi warns Kenya’s KSh3.6 trillion revenue target is out of reach
- Modern women are not falling out of love — they are falling into their senses
- The Chinese century: how Beijing is reshaping the world’s technology, industry and influence
- Omtatah petitions JSC to probe judges over Kenya-US health deal ruling
About the Author
