President William Ruto has suffered an immense blow towards his re-election in 2027 after Murang’a County Governor Irungu Kang’ata dumped him and joined the Democracy for Citizens Party.
DCP is a party led by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who is currently the undisputed Mt Kenya region kingpin, if the results of the just-concluded by-election in Ol Kalou are anything to go by.
The Mt Kenya region is crucial to any presidential election since it has an estimated over 7 million votes. In fact, the vote-rich region contributed 47 percent of the total votes that propelled President William Ruto to the House on the Hill during the August 2022 presidential election.
Kang’ata was among the generals who campaigned for President William Ruto in the Mt Kenya region to defeat the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga. His defection is therefore a significant loss to the President’s re-election campaign. Having lost a five-star general, Ruto is now clutching at straws, and his re-election in 2027 may be a herculean task akin to milking a donkey.
In a statement on X on Friday, Kang’ata stated that he has officially joined DCP after keenly listening to the ground. He said the decision was not made lightly and came after extensive consultations with the people of Murang’a and the larger Mt Kenya region. However, Kang’ata, who had previously joined Edwin Sifuna’s Linda Mwananchi movement, said he will continue associating with the bandwagon, but his heart is in DCP.
Kangata’s move is the latest in a series of defections from the ruling party to the opposition. Political analysts believe that the Ol Kalou by-election results, where DCP annihilated UDA, sent a clear message to leaders from the region that Gachagua is now the man to follow. Kangata, known for his political shrewdness, appears to have read the writing on the wall and decided to jump ship before it sinks.
The term “Mene Mene Tekel” used in the headline is a biblical reference from the Book of Daniel, meaning “numbered, numbered, weighed, divided.” It is often used to signify that a kingdom or empire has been weighed and found wanting, and its days are numbered. In this context, it suggests that President Ruto’s political empire in Mt Kenya is crumbling and his re-election prospects are increasingly uncertain.
President Ruto’s camp is yet to respond to Kang’ata’s defection, but sources indicate that there is panic at State House as more leaders from the region are expected to follow suit. With the 2027 elections drawing closer, the President’s grip on the Mt Kenya vote bloc appears to be slipping away.
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