Deputy President Kithure Kindiki delivers his speech after he was installed as the Mt Kenya spokesperson at Kirigiti Stadium in Kiambu County.

📋 Breaking It Down

Political intrigue surrounds Saturday’s ‘coronation’ of Deputy President Kithure Kindiki as the political spokesman of the Mt Kenya region.

Some of President William Ruto’s allies have accused former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua of having a hand in an event that was meant to consolidate support for his successor.

The ceremony at the 16,000-capacity Kirigiti Stadium in Kiambu brought together elders from the Agikuyu, Embu and Meru communities, who dressed Prof Kindiki in traditional regalia and endorsed him as the region’s spokesman.

📌 What You Need to Know

The elders representing groups including Kiama Kia Ma, the Kikuyu Council of Elders, Njuri Ncheke, Kiama Kia Muembu, Ngome and Nyangi Ndiriri, said their declaration was intended to preserve the unity of the region and rejected calls to split Mt Kenya into separate political blocs.

Deputy President Kithure Kindiki with elders at the solemn Mt Kenya elders assembly at Kirigiti Stadium, Kiambu County, where he was endorsed as the Mt Kenya spokesperson.

But the ceremony immediately exposed the fault lines over who has the authority to speak for Mt Kenya region and whether the political establishment around President Ruto has secured the region’s support ahead of the 2027 General Election.

Some Agikuyu elders disowned the event while politicians opposed to the Ruto administration questioned the legitimacy of the process. The disagreements have turned what was presented as a cultural gathering into another contest over the region’s political leadership.

The event also added to a growing list of attempts to install political spokesmen for the region. Area elders have previously bestowed similar honours on Jomo Kenyatta in 1947, Njenga Karume in 1978, Uhuru Kenyatta in 2012, Raila Odinga in 2020 and Justin Muturi in 2021. Prof Kindiki has now received the honour twice in 2026, including his earlier elevation by the Njuri Ncheke in Meru.

Kiama Kia Ma patron Kung’u Muigai dismissed the Kirigiti declaration as null and void while Kikuyu Council of Elders chairman Wachira Kiago said his wing kept away from the ceremony.

📰 Source: Nation Africa