Member of Parliament (MP) for Gatundu North Elijah Njoroge Kururia has come out to declare retired President Uhuru Kenyatta as the Mt Kenya region kingpin.

While speaking during an interview on a local TV station, the outspoken MP explained that the badge of being the community leader was installed on Uhuru by former leaders who were highly regarded in the Kikuyu community, such as former minister John Michuki. He added that Uhuru has never passed the mantle to anyone else, making him still the kingpin of the region.

“Uhuru Kenyatta bado yeye ndio kingpin wa Mt Kenya,” he said.

He further laughed off other leaders currently purporting to be the kingpin of the region at a time when Uhuru has not officially handed over the mantle of community leadership, saying they are simply imposing themselves on the people.

Kururia also took issue with Justin Muturi’s coronation to the position by some elders back in 2021, saying it was a shambolic scheme that carried no significance.

Gachagua’s quest for Mt Kenya kingpin

This comes at a time when former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has been positioning himself as the Mt Kenya region leader, with him repeatedly telling his kinsmen that he will be the one to guide the community on how they will vote in the 2027 general election.

Gachagua has been moving around the Mt Kenya region proclaiming his authority as the community leader.

He has also come out to defend the fourth president, Uhuru Kenyatta, from recent political attacks, saying that as the community’s spokesman, it is his role to shield the Jubilee Party leader from external criticism.

The two leaders, who had previously been at odds politically, now appear to be slowly mending ties following their recent meeting during the funeral of former Daniel Karaba.

Political analysts have argued that, should the two leaders bury their differences and work together ahead of the next general election, it would send a strong political message across the Mt Kenya region and the country at large.

Political analyst Peter Kagwanja recently described Uhuru Kenyatta as the “Muthamaki”, a Kikuyu term referring to the supreme community leader, while labelling Gachagua as “Mutongoria”, a leader tasked with taking instructions from the Muthamaki and handling the day-to-day affairs of the community.

Wamuchomba’s view

Elsewhere, Wamuchomba, who is an ardent critic of Gachagua and strongly supports Uhuru Kenyatta, also describes him as the undisputed political kingpin of the Mount Kenya region.

“Uhuru Kenyatta is the undisputed kingpin of the mountain, and he didn’t force it on us,” she said.