Moses Kuria accuses Gachagua of tribalising national schools amid placement debate
By Kenneth Mwenda, January 6, 2026Chama Cha Kazi Party Leader Moses Kuria has renewed his political clash with ex–Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, accusing him of injecting tribal politics into Kenya’s national schools at a sensitive moment in the country’s education transition.
Kuria made the remarks in a post on X on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, responding to recent statements by Gachagua questioning the placement of Grade 10 learners in top national schools.
“I have heard Rigathi Gachagua tribalising the last bastion of our values – national schools,” Kuria wrote. “He thinks he has the right to do so simply because he went to Alliance – to supply milk when he was a District Officer in the area in the 90s.”
The exchange follows public comments by Gachagua in which he questioned why students from outside the Mt Kenya region were admitted to Alliance High School and Mang’u High School. He argued that many learners from the region were instead placed in schools far from home, a claim that sparked criticism across political and education circles.
Critics viewed the remarks as tribal, noting that national schools are designed to admit students from across the country based on merit and regional balance. Alliance and Mang’u, though located in Central Kenya, are public national institutions and not regional schools.
Kuria argued that national schools remain one of the few spaces where Kenyan students mix across ethnic and regional lines, helping to promote unity from a young age. He accused Gachagua of undermining this principle for political gain.
Placement fuels tensions
The dispute comes against the backdrop of the first-ever placement of Grade 10 learners under the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system. Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba announced in December that all 1,130,459 candidates who sat the 2025 Kenya Junior Secondary Education Assessment (KJSEA) would transition to senior school.
According to the Ministry of Education, placement into senior schools is based on learner performance, chosen pathways, available capacity, and national balance. The ministry also opened a seven-day review window in late December to address placement complaints, citing high competition for popular schools and mismatches between selected pathways and results.
Government officials have insisted that the placement process remains automated and merit-based, with no region given preferential treatment.
The Kuria–Gachagua fallout, however, goes beyond education. The two have traded sharp words for months.
Earlier this week, Kuria dismissed claims that he had been hospitalised, accusing Gachagua’s allies of spreading false information to silence him. He also blamed Gachagua for political intimidation at a funeral in Murang’a County, where speakers allied to President William Ruto were heckled.
Gachagua has repeatedly dismissed Kuria’s Chama Cha Kazi party and similar outfits as “wheelbarrows”, arguing that they weaken Mt Kenya’s bargaining power by dividing votes.