Kirinyaga MPs urge Mt Kenya leaders to shun 2027 politics
Members of parliament in Kirinyaga County have urged their Mt Kenya counterparts to shun 2027 politics and focus on development projects in the vote-rich region.
This follows comments by several Murang’a leaders who are calling on President William Ruto to pick Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro as his running mate in the 2027 polls.
The debate on President Ruto favouring Ndindi Nyoro over his current deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, has sharply divided Mt Kenya leaders, where some claim that Gachagua is the de facto Mt Kenya Kingpin given his position as DP while others are pushing for Nyoro, who has been ranked as one of the best-performing MPs in the country.
However, Kirinyaga MPs have expressed concern over the stoking of the political narrative, pointing out that it is too early to engage in 2027 politics.
Led by Kirinyaga Central MP Gachoki Gitari, the leaders are urging their counterparts to focus on development.
“It is barely one and a half years since we held another election. How do we start the debate and the conversation about what we want to do in 2027? The President and the Deputy President have a plan, the Kenya Kwanza brigade have a plan; have we implemented our plan?” the legislator posed.
"And you know, that is the marking scheme that the people who voted for us have – whether we have fulfilled whatever we promised. So, I would like to tell my colleagues to shun politics now; it’s a bit premature and a bit early," he added.
Gitari also pointed out that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is yet to be constituted, adding that there is no vacant seat at the top leadership of the nation.
"We know the IEBC has not been properly constituted, so we cannot conduct a by-election. We lost a member of parliament, and we have lost some MCAs, so there are no vacancies apart from those. First of all, we work for the people. We bring IEBC on board so that we can prepare for 2027, and at that time, we will come to hunt for votes," he said.
Premature politicking in Mt Kenya
His Mwea Constituency counterpart Mary Maingi supported his sentiments on early politicking in Mt Kenya.
“Hii siasa ya mlima ni kama imekuja mapema sana (The 2027 politics here in Mt Kenya has come very early). President Ruto is in office with his Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and firmly in control of this country, and I don’t think there is any vacant position,” she said.
The Mwea MP further said that the position of the deputy president is not a preserve of a specific county in Kenya.
“Mark my words, should there arise a vacancy, all of us have candidates. We have our governor who is leaving after two serving two terms. It’s not a preserve for Murang’a or Nyeri. Let's have a woman deputy president this time around. If Governor Waiguru is not interested, I am interested,” she added.
