Kindiki neck deep in 2027 running mate trouble as Ruto heads Western

As Deputy President Kithure Kindiki charts his own man political identity in the perceptions that President William Ruto picked on him to be a puppet, pundits urge him to identify with the odds around him.

President Ruto picked Mr Kindiki after Rigathi Gachagua impeachment that was sponsored by state house in October last year.

The impeachment saw the Mt Kenya region revolt against the president and his government, threatening him with a huge loss of the 87 percent votes he had received in the region in 2022.

After picking Prof Kindiki hoping to overturn the rebellion, three(3) months later it is yet to work, threatening the new DP with the tag of a failed political project.

Already, President Ruto has merged his United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party with that of Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi's Amani National Congress (ANC).

The president appears to be searching for alternative allies to help him compensate what appears certain will be lost in Mt Kenya region that is waiting for Gachagua direction this coming Sunday.

Mr Kindiki has been warned by political pundits that he got no two ways about it, it is he wins back the mountain for President Ruto's second term bid or prepare his exit route out of the 2027 contest ticket.

He has been warned too, that his relevance in politics will not be in how he unites Kenya, but how he unites numbers to make the government look re-electable in 2027.

In a recent NTV interview, Prof Kindiki who was sworn in on November 1, 2024, to replace Mr Gachagua said "I am my own man but bound by loyalty to the oath of office and allegiance".

It is by virtue of him coming from Mt Kenya that is restless and sulking against President Ruto that is making his elevation to the second in command office to be a walk through a political minefield.

"Prof Kindiki is a man walking a big dilemma of fitting into previous Mt Kenya Kingpins' shoes, live up to his boss' expectations, serve the national calling and at the same time advance his political ambitions. It is not exactly an easy task," says Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) don Mr Charles Mwangi.

After President Ruto sponsored the impeachment of his elected Deputy President Gachagua, and picked Prof Kindiki as his replacement, the resultant emotions went against the latter--Kindiki--Mr Mwangi adds.

"That is an awful exam that Prof Kindiki must get right. His usefulness in politics is founded on how he scores on those components," says political scientist Gasper Odhiambo.

Mr Odhiambo summarised Prof Kindiki's job description thus: "To help his boss and himself, he must at all times realise he is in a game of numbers for both of them, or for himself".

Mr Odhiambo added that the numbers are not for any other purpose apart from making the president feel loved in the mountain and the country at large as well as keep his political ambitions alive.

However, it is not clear whether Mr Kindiki will get the numbers in Mt Kenya owing to the hostilities that are raging after he replaced Mr Gachagua in what pundits argue, was more for political expediency than fairness.

Political analyst and university don Prof Macharia Munene opines that Prof Kindiki is a national minded leader in a political quagmire of regionalism.

He said the nature of local politics is that regions have point men who later seek alliances for political contests.

"Politics being a game of numbers, the person to unite with the one seeking the ultimate prize of the presidency must align with those who can contribute as many votes possible to the cause," he said.

He added that for Prof Kindiki to be relevant for President Ruto's 2027 cause, he must work a way of contributing to winning numbers for the President's reelection by bringing together not less than 4 million votes for the reelection bid.

"In that task, he will be competing with other interested regional leaders who will be tabling their bargaining numbers," he added.

That is where pundits are asking about the numbers that Prof Kindiki will table as value addition to the contest ticket between him and President Ruto.

"That's why I'll say that Prof Kindiki should not get worried about President Ruto's support in other regions, but he should train his guns in Mt Kenya. He must win real numbers in his backyard for him to compete for the 2027 running mate slot with other regions," says former Gatanga MP Mr Nduati Ngugi.

Mr Ngugi added that "we as Jubilee Party loyalists have absolutely no bad blood with Prof Kindiki since after all we were all together in the Uhuru Kenyatta government and he is a likeable, well-meaning and dedicated leader".

Mr Ngugi said how the DP navigates Mt Kenya political intrigues to gain the command post is the key to his future political prospects.

According to Nyandarua Senator John Methu, the DP's problems are solely based on "if he were a woman, it can be said she ran to get married to a man who just murdered her sister".

"Part of the reason that Prof Kindiki is yet to cause any excitement in Mt Kenya is that he was picked to fill a position that his brother Gachagua had 'unjustifiably' been kicked out," Mr Methu said.

Mr Methu said much the more the Mt Kenya region got no hard feelings against Mr Kindiki and would love him to succeed, the negative emotions that surround his elevation from interior CS to second in command makes it hard to celebrate him.

In impeaching Mr Gachagua, the president's men through Kibwezi West MP Mr Mwengi Mutuse cited being divisive, insubordination and overzealousness to serve Mt Kenya only as some of the grounds.

"The grounds simply put, had it that Mr Gachagua refused that tenants and traders be evicted, was demanding huge share of the national cake on behalf of Mt Kenya and refusing to endorse shady deals," Murang'a Senator Joe Nyutu says.

He added that "this appears to be a big fix for our son Kindiki who then would be expected to be the opposite of what Mr Gachagua was...to mean a yes man even when it will mean giving Mt Kenya a raw deal".

Gikuyu, Embu and Meru Association Chair Mr Lawi Imathiu says there is nothing wrong with Kindiki but the shoes that he is being forced to wear by political circumstances are too big.

"We are willing to help Prof Kindiki succeed. He first needs goodwill from us as his roots...we absolutely have no problem with him. The environment he has come to high office are demanding," Mr Imathiu said.

Mr Imathiu says Prof Kindiki can make a quality national leader given the correct environment to shine.

"What makes this region sulk is executing an injustice against a brother and trying to heal it by rewarding another brother. That is where the problem is," he said.

Kikuyu Council of elders Chairman Mr Wachira Kiago told AVDelta News that DP Kindiki seeks to fill a position that previously was held by political giants.

"As the most senior politician in Mt Kenya region, he is supposed to be the community leader. But that leadership has structures of being won and legitimately exercised," Mr Kiago said.

Mr Kiago said the community had Dedan Kimathi, Jomo Kenyatta, Kenneth Matiba, Mwai Kibaki, Uhuru Kenyatta and Gachagua as their overall leaders, Kindiki being measured against them presenting a disconnect.

"Those were leaders that people saw come and arrive...they had walked a journey with their people and were a product of goodwill...Prof Kindiki just came, riding on an emotional  impeachment process of a hospitalized man hence why he is yet to be acknowledged," he said.

Mr Kiago said the ideal position that Prof Kindiki should adopt is that of uniting with Mr Kenyatta and Gachagua to first heal the negative emotions raging in the mountain.

"Mr Gachagua had this problem when he was Deputy President. We were demanding that he unites with Mr Kenyatta to unite the Mountain and link it with the rest of the country. That message is still alive albeit with Prof Kindiki now in the mix. They must unite since we will not support anyone fighting the other," he said.

But Prof Kindiki has another problem packaged in the fact that, he cannot unite with people who might not be willing to.

Mr Gachagua had the same problem where he was being told to unite with Mr Kenyatta, yet, Mr Kenyatta remained non-responsive. To date, he has kept the country guessing on whether he has since accepted the public apologies to him and his family from the impeached DP.

Likewise, Mr Gachagua has been making some deft comments that make the demand for him to unite with Kindiki to appear a tall order.

"I was the only one in President Ruto's cabinet who could speak truth to him. I was the only one who could tell him when I thought he was wrong. None else including Prof Kindiki himself when he was interior CS could dare the president," Mr Gachagua recently said in Murang'a County.

Mr Gachagua added that his guts to speak truth to power was based on the basis he was an elected authority.

"That man you see now appointed has no voice of the elected...he is an appointee of the president who once told to jump cannot question but jump higher possible. But all in all, I have no problem with him, he should be given time and space to serve," the former DP added.

He added that his only advise is that "he and his boss should apply the same speed that applied in hounding me out of office to serve the people...let us see same speed in transformative governance".

Likewise, Prof Kindiki has been shadowboxing Mr Gachagua by way of making public speeches that seek to align with President Ruto's position about how a Deputy President should behave.

Speaking recently in Kirinyaga County the DP insisted that he stands for national unity, inclusiveness, equity and development.

"We should adopt the culture of believing in one people under one flag...governments are run by humans and as such,  they are bound to err at some point but we are a listening entity and we will engage all to uniformly take the country forward," Prof Kindiki said.

He added that the Kenya Kwanza government under the stewardship of President Ruto welcomes  criticism and feedback, adding that such will help to enhance qualify of governance.

"National unity is the bedrock of our shared prosperity. We have a collective responsibility to defend and protect the unity and indivisibility of our Country," he said, appearing to steer clear of presenting himself as the defender of the mountain only.