Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua stormed Meru county on Friday, June 20, as he intensifies efforts to mobilise the Mount Kenya region behind the opposition.
Mr. Gachagua, who had initially focused on Central Kenya—holding several roadside rallies— is now ramping up for a charm offensive in Mount Kenya East, traversing multiple towns to push for regional unity.
Huge crowds turned up as the Former Dp held stop-overs in Embu town, Chuka town, Chogoria town en route to Meru County, the epicentre of the planned tour on Saturday, June 21, 2025.
Opposition leaders are expected to traversing Meru County, in a bid to consolidate support and secure votes ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Key figures expected to take part in the tour include Gachagua, PLP leader Martha Karua, DAP-K party boss Eugene Wamalwa, former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i, and Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka.
This will mark the first joint tour of Mount Kenya by opposition leaders as they seek to cement their influence in the vote-rich region ahead of the 2027 elections. Since unveiling their unity plans in April, the leaders have not mounted any aggressive joint campaigns in the region.
The Mount Kenya bloc was instrumental in President William Ruto’s 2022 victory over his then-main rival, Raila Odinga, delivering more than 3.5 million votes.
As the political scramble for Mt Kenya heats up, President Ruto and his impeached deputy Gachagua are laying out parallel political strategies to win the support of the populous, vote-rich region ahead of the 2027 polls.
Gachagua has formed a new political movement composed of allies in the legislature. The new outfit, the Ituungati movement, is similar to the ‘Tangatanga’ group which Ruto formed in 2018 to face his then-boss President Uhuru Kenyatta, after failing to get Uhuru’s support as his successor in the 2022 elections.
Ituungati, which means “the servants of the community”, is a Kikuyu word derived from Kenya’s Mau Mau liberation war in the 1950s. According to Gachagua, the word aims to portray the new group – which mostly comprises legislators who opposed his impeachment – as the ‘heroes’ of the Mt Kenya region.
Borrowing its activities heavily from Ruto’s Tangatanga, the legislators have been accompanying Gachagua to different social and political functions, which they later use to criticise Ruto over alleged failed promises to Kenyans. They have also been holding a series of press conferences, issuing statements critical of the Ruto administration.
Just as Tangatanga was formed after Ruto fell out with Uhuru after the latter ditched Ruto and opted to support Raila Odinga as his preferred presidential candidate in 2022, the Ituungati movement was formed after Gachagua’s impeachment.
Though its activities are largely seen as a copy of the Tangatanga political script, Ituungati top officials described the outfit as “the new voice” of the Kenyan people.
In what appears to be a calculated political move for revenge against Ruto’s perceived betrayal by pushing him out, Gachagua has started lining up contestants to face Ruto’s allies in various elective seats in Mt Kenya in 2027.
The opposition outfit, currently on a campaing trail, has stated it will support one candidate as the flag bearer - yet to be announced - vowing to oust President William Ruto at the ballot come 2027.
