Gachagua’s siege politics isolate Mt Kenya
By Aloys Michael, July 27, 2025In recent weeks, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has reignited a toxic brand of politics in the Mount Kenya region, one rooted in fear, withdrawal, and tribal grievance.
His increasingly defiant rhetoric, especially while speaking to the Kenyan diaspora in Seattle, is not just politically reckless; it risks driving a wedge through the heart of the nation’s democratic and economic fabric.
Gachagua claimed that President William Ruto had declared war on Mt Kenya, saying that businesses were being targeted and that the economy was collapsing because people from the region had stopped paying taxes and investing.
He painted a picture of deliberate economic strangulation, where Mt. Kenya, supposedly the lifeblood of Kenya’s economy, is under siege from the very government it helped elect. According to Gachagua, the people have now withdrawn their financial loyalty, keeping their money out of circulation and waiting for a more “friendly” administration.
This is more than political banter; it is calculated fearmongering. The so-called siege mentality he is fuelling encourages the residents to see themselves as victims of a hostile state. It frames disengagement from national duty, taxes, investment, and trust in institutions as a form of protest. While emotionally resonant, this message is profoundly irresponsible and potentially disastrous.
Gachagua has gone further, suggesting that the suppression of Kikuyu businesses and youth is systematic. “When you destroy this community, you destroy Kenya,” invoking the central role of his community in the national economy. Yet such sweeping statements oversimplify the real challenges Kenya is facing—challenges like debt distress, global fuel price fluctuations, and internal governance failures that affect all regions, not just Mt. Kenya.
Fuel shortages and rising prices are national issues, not targeted punishments. They stem from complex global and domestic factors, not from a vendetta against one ethnic bloc. Gachagua’s attempt to tribalise national economic problems does not help his community; it isolates it.
Mountain in limbo?
In reality, this siege narrative offers no vision for recovery or reform. It is a politics of protest without policy, grievance without growth. As 2027 looms, it is becoming clear that Gachagua is anchoring his presidential ambition on a narrow ethnic base. But tribal anger is not a sustainable political platform. It cannot deliver the kind of broad national support required to lead a diverse country like Kenya.
True leadership is not about convincing your base to hoard their money and withhold taxes. It is about mobilising people toward meaningful engagement with the system to demand better outcomes. It is about building coalitions, offering solutions, and articulating a national agenda that uplifts all regions equally.
Gachagua’s current trajectory not only weakens Mt Kenya’s ability to influence policy nationally, but it also alienates younger, more issue-driven voters who are increasingly disillusioned by tribal politics. The Gen Z demographic, which has shown it can organise and speak out, is not interested in old wounds or ethnic score-settling. They want jobs, justice, and equity. They want solutions, not slogans.
Mt Kenya’s true strength lies in its people, its agricultural productivity, its business acumen, and its resilience. It should be leading Kenya forward, not withdrawing into economic self-isolation under the direction of a politician playing the victim card.
Rather than stoke fear, Gachagua should pivot toward solutions. He should call for equitable budget allocations, demand transparency in government contracts, champion education and youth empowerment, and lead efforts to bridge the trust deficit between regions. That is how Mt Kenya can assert its place in national discourse, through leadership, not lamentation.
By telling residents to keep their money in their mattresses and wait for a better regime, Gachagua is not empowering them; he’s encouraging economic sabotage. And in doing so, he is undermining the very country he claims to protect.
Kenya’s unity and prosperity require a politics that heals, not divides. A politics that sees regions not as silos of grievance but as partners in progress. It’s time to reject siege narratives, no matter how familiar or politically convenient they may seem. The mountain is too strong to be reduced to fear. And Kenya is too important to be broken apart by bitterness.