NAIROBI, Kenya Oct 16 \u2013 Murang\u2019a Governor Irungu Kang\u2019ata\u2019s reemergence in national politics is sparking speculation about his potential candidacy for Deputy President if the current holder, Rigathi Gachagua, is impeached by the Senate.<\/p>\n
The once outspoken critic of former President Uhuru Kenyatta\u2019s administration is now raising eyebrows, with many wondering if he could be Gachagua\u2019s successor.<\/p>\n
Since retreating to focus on Murang\u2019a after his election as Governor, Kang\u2019ata has largely stayed out of the national spotlight. <\/p>\n
However, his meeting with opposition leader-turned-government ally Raila Odinga on Wednesday has fuelled speculation about his political ambitions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Right Honourable former Prime Minister Raila Odinga invited me this morning for consultations. We had a good discussion on national cohesion and the progress we have made as a country under devolution,\u201d Kang\u2019ata wrote on X after the meeting.<\/p>\n
The former Prime Minister, who recently secured Cabinet appointments for four of his top allies, is said to have President William Ruto\u2019s ear, fueling speculation that his meeting with Kang\u2019ata was no coincidence.<\/p>\n
With President Ruto remaining silent on his deputy\u2019s impeachment, intense lobbying is underway, with Interior CS Kithure Kindiki and Kirinyaga Governor Ann Waiguru emerging as top contenders to succeed Gachagua.<\/p>\n
However, Kang\u2019ata, who prides himself on transforming his county, is quietly being backed by a faction of leaders as a potential candidate, signaling a brewing succession battle in Mt. Kenya politics.<\/p>\n
Leaders from the larger Mt. Kenya region are scrambling to ensure the seat remains in the region, fueling tension and divisions among them.<\/p>\n
The Raila-Kang\u2019ata meeting took place as Gachagua\u2019s impeachment trial began in the Senate, where he denied all charges.<\/p>\n
Gachagua, who has fallen out with President Ruto, was impeached by the National Assembly on October 8, 2024, facing 11 charges, including gross violation of the Constitution.<\/p>\n
Defiant, Gachagua has labeled the charges as \u201coutrageous and politically motivated\u201d and vowed to fight until the end, relying on the courts to clear him.<\/p>\n
Until Gachagua is officially impeached, the race to succeed him remains speculative, with potential candidates emerging but no clear front-runner. <\/p>\n
President Ruto will ultimately have the final say on the next pick, leaving the Mt. Kenya region in suspense and on edge.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NAIROBI, Kenya Oct 16 \u2013 Murang\u2019a Governor Irungu Kang\u2019ata\u2019s reemergence in national politics is sparking speculation about his potential candidacy for Deputy President if the current holder, Rigathi Gachagua, is impeached by the Senate. The once outspoken critic of former President Uhuru Kenyatta\u2019s administration is now raising eyebrows, with many wondering if he could be […]<\/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-99405","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\/99405","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=99405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99405\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}