The escalating rivalry between former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro is reopening long-dormant political divisions in Mt Kenya, according to The Star, Kenya. The outlet reported on Friday, 23 October 2026, that the exchanges between the two leaders threaten to revive the Nyeri-Murang'a fault lines that split the region's vote in the early 1990s.
The Star, Kenya warns that the dispute could leave the region without a single political voice going into the next election cycle, weakening its ability to bargain collectively on the national stage.
Why it matters
Mt Kenya's voting bloc has long been treated as a decisive factor in national contests, and the region's influence has depended heavily on presenting a united front. The Star, Kenya draws a direct parallel to 1992, when Nyeri voters largely backed Mwai Kibaki of the Democratic Party while Murang'a threw its weight behind Kenneth Matiba of Ford-Asili. That split, the outlet notes, diluted the region's leverage at a critical moment.
More than three decades on, analysts cited by the publication see the same pattern forming. Gachagua comes from Nyeri, while Nyoro represents a Murang'a constituency, and their competition for regional leadership is being read as a revival of those old geographic loyalties.
A leadership vacuum since 2022
The current contest stems from the absence of an undisputed regional kingpin. According to The Star, Kenya, retired President Uhuru Kenyatta's departure from office in 2022 ended a long line of leaders — from founding President Jomo Kenyatta through Kibaki to Uhuru himself — who had shaped the region's political direction. That exit opened a vacuum that several politicians have since tried to fill.
Gachagua initially appeared best placed to claim the role after serving as Deputy President under President William Ruto. The Star, Kenya reports that he presented himself as the region's spokesperson and pushed the "One Man, One Shilling, One Vote" campaign, which sought a larger share of national resources for populous areas.
His effort to lock in that position was complicated by Nyoro's rising profile. The Kiharu MP built influence through his chairmanship of the National Assembly's Budget and Appropriations Committee and through his development record in his constituency, which drew legislators to visit and benchmark his programmes. Within Kenya Kwanza circles, The Star, Kenya reports, his ascent fuelled speculation that powerful figures were grooming him to challenge Gachagua for regional leadership.
That speculation surfaced publicly in January 2024, when Murang'a Senator Joe Nyutu, then a close Nyoro ally, suggested Ruto should pick the Kiharu MP as his running mate in 2027. Nyutu argued that Nyoro was popular on the ground and had strong social skills and a good rapport with people. The remark, according to the outlet, laid bare the emerging contest over who could best represent Mt Kenya's interests in a future government.
Impeachment, a party switch and "mole" claims
The political map shifted after Gachagua's impeachment in October 2024. Some former allies, including Nyutu, drew closer to the former Deputy President. Nyoro was among the MPs who abstained from the impeachment vote, saying he wanted to deny Parliament the numbers needed to pass the motion. The Star, Kenya quotes him as saying that staying away from the assembly was the effective way to defeat an impeachment.
The two leaders did not clash openly at first, but their differences sharpened after Nyoro joined the Peoples Party of Kenya on 17 August. The move surprised observers who had expected him to join Gachagua's Democracy for the Citizens Party, which has been working to consolidate support across the region.
Gachagua's allies responded by casting Nyoro as a State "mole" allegedly sponsored by Ruto to split the region's vote in 2027. Naivasha MP Jayne Kihara, a close Gachagua ally, said that during meetings there used to be a designated seat for Nyoro while Gachagua was still Deputy President.
Nyoro pushed back, saying Kihara was trying to corner him into responding. He said he had called her and told her that if she spoke the truth he would stay silent, but that he would not keep quiet in the face of lies, adding that he had chosen not to disrespect someone old enough to be his parent.
Prof Macharia Munene, a political analyst quoted by The Star, Kenya, cautioned that the exchanges are unhealthy and are further dividing the region, making it harder for Mt Kenya to rally behind a single leader.
What to watch is whether the two camps can contain the dispute before the 2027 campaign takes shape, or whether the region heads into another election with its vote divided along the same lines as 1992.
