{"id":136340,"date":"2026-04-01T15:02:53","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T15:02:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/gachagua-vows-to-unite-mt-kenya-under-uhuru-allied-opposition\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T15:02:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T15:02:53","slug":"gachagua-vows-to-unite-mt-kenya-under-uhuru-allied-opposition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/gachagua-vows-to-unite-mt-kenya-under-uhuru-allied-opposition\/","title":{"rendered":"Gachagua vows to unite Mt Kenya under Uhuru-allied opposition"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, April 1 \u2014 Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Wednesday pledged to help unify the Mt Kenya region under an opposition alliance backed by former President Uhuru Kenyatta, vowing to mend past political rifts while accusing President William Ruto of dividing the region.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gachagua spoke during the burial of former Daniel Karaba in Kirinyaga County, attended by several prominent opposition figures, including Kenyatta, Kalonzo Musyoka, Fred Matiang\u2019i, Martha Karua, and Eugene Wamalwa.<\/p>\n

Addressing mourners, Gachagua emphasized the importance of rallying behind a single presidential candidate for the next election.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want one candidate, whether it is Martha Karua, Fred Matiang\u2019i, Kalonzo Musyoka or Rigathi Gachagua \u2014 it does not matter,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He criticized Ruto\u2019s allies for claiming that Kenyatta would not collaborate with him, insisting their relationship spanned decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cI personally served as President Uhuru Kenyatta\u2019s personal assistant for many years and worked closely with him for more than 20 years. Then this person came between us, and for the last three years we have been at odds,\u201d Gachagua said.<\/p>\n

The former deputy president expressed regret over his previous support for Ruto, saying that many leaders and religious figures were misled.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Christians, we believed what he told us because he spoke using the word of God and the Bible. Sometimes I blame myself for being deceived and for misleading our people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Gachagua accused Ruto of attempting to fracture the politically influential Mt Kenya region along geographic lines.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has tried to divide our region between Mt Kenya East and West, and that is why I am at loggerheads with him. I cannot allow that. If he succeeds, it will be the end for us,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n

Drawing parallels with Kenya\u2019s 1992 election, Gachagua cautioned that political divisions could hand victory to rivals, recalling how opposition fragmentation allowed former president Daniel arap Moi to win.<\/p>\n

\u201cRemember what happened in 1992: Kenneth Matiba stood on one side, Mwai Kibaki stood on another, and Daniel arap Moi emerged victorious because of that division,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Gachagua also called for broader political alliances beyond Mt Kenya, urging communities including the Kamba, Kisii, Luhya, Mijikenda, and Maasai to work together.<\/p>\n

He credited Kenyatta with helping reduce long-standing tensions between the Kikuyu and Luo communities, noting that many Mt Kenya voters supported opposition leader Raila Odinga in the last election.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the first time, about 1.3 million people, at his urging, voted for Raila Odinga. That means the differences between our communities are gradually reducing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Gachagua also defended Kenyatta from criticism by political figures such as Junet Mohamed, praising the former president\u2019s role in bridging ethnic and political divides.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody will divide the Mountain. Nobody will come between the people of this region, and nobody will come between us and President Uhuru Kenyatta,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the record, President Kenyatta is my elder brother, my kinsman, and my long-time friend. Those earlier differences were the politics of yesterday. We are now living in different times.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, April 1 \u2014 Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Wednesday pledged to help unify the Mt Kenya region under an opposition alliance backed by former President Uhuru Kenyatta, vowing to mend past political rifts while accusing President William Ruto of dividing the region. Gachagua spoke during the burial of former Daniel Karaba in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-136340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136340\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}