On the night before the running mate was picked in 2022, I was in Mombasa when William Ruto called me and asked that we meet in Karen.
When I got there, he explained that leaders within UDA had taken the position that the running mate had to come from UDA and from the Mt. Kenya region.
He also told me that the reason he could not pick me was because I belonged to another party, the Democratic Party, and I could not join UDA.
Because of that, the promise he had earlier made to me could not be fulfilled. I told him I understood and that it was okay.
He appeared visibly relieved. However, there was still a stalemate within the team.
He explained that although the majority had initially voted for Kindiki, he felt that Kindiki did not seem to understand politics well enough.
He even remarked that people in the Mt. Kenya region were even asking whether Kindiki was Maasai because he could hardly speak Kikuyu.
Eventually, he told me he had made up his mind that Rigathi Gachagua would be the running mate because picking Kindiki would have been political suicide.
It would have cost us votes. At the time, I agreed with that assessment.
The logical choice was Rigathi Gachagua because he had the political base and the ability to mobilize votes from the Mt. Kenya region.
And indeed, that is exactly what happened, Gachagua delivered the votes. And that reality has not changed to date. William Ruto himself knows that Kindiki does not have the kind of political influence in the Mt. Kenya region that can sway the vote.
