JUMA: GK Kariuki: Self-effacing Ndia MP quietly makes waves in Mt Kenya

This week, the political rhetoric revolving around the fallout between President William Ruto and his deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, was cranked up a notch higher. This acrimony followed a weekend in which the President attended a function in the DP’s Nyeri county, while Gachagua himself chose to skip the presidential activity and instead went to neighbouring Kirinyaga county for a church function.

It has now become customary for the two leaders and their allies to refer to each other in parables and riddles, but the past week gave the clearest indication that the gloves and masks are gradually coming off, and the political combatants are openly taking on each other. If brazen had a face, it would be the DP stomping his ground just several kilometres from his boss, seemingly without a care in the world.

Amidst all this, talk of a plan to impeach the DP has been growing louder. There were echoes from long ago, of one Dr Josephat Karanja, who became President Moi’s Vice President after Mwai Kibaki was dropped from office following the infamous Mlolongo elections of 1988. On taking office, Karanja soon ran into problems with politicians from his own backyard of Central Kenya, who accused him of being overbearing, arrogant and for asking them to kneel before him.

The eventual removal of Dr Karanja from office was preceded by an almost similar pattern of events as Gachagua’s case today. And in each case, neither Karanja nor Gachagua saw the need to tone down and change course, before the hammer (at least in the case of Karanja) fell. When Karanja’s fall came, the cacophony of noises demanding his departure had been led by what were then lowly politicians in the form of the late David Mwenje and a Limuru politician with the rather lofty title of Director of the Motor Vehicle Inspection Unit, one Kuria Kanyingi.

The relationship between the President and his deputy is now irretrievably broken. It is also safe to bet that three years is too long a time, in terms of national security and political stability, for the two to continue serving in the same government. So, I suspect that this time, the impeachment process of Gachagua will actually proceed to Parliament. With that, the next question would then be, what next? What are the President’s options, should his deputy fall?

Names have been thrown around, some of them obvious. Among those often mentioned by commentators as possible replacements for Gachagua are Interior CS Kithure Kindiki, Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru, National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah and Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro. But a look back at events in 1988, when Moi relieved Kibaki of the vice presidency, before settling on the little known, media-shy former university don, Prof George Saitoti, persuades me to believe it is never that obvious.

Ruto is widely regarded as Moi’s political student. By that score, I submit that should Gachagua fall, the President will not be going for another abrasive, egoistic person to replace him. Instead, the sort of person who would complement the President would ideally be a calm and measured leader, a far cry from the confrontational nature of the current DP.

My interest has been spooked by a video clip that emerged in the last few days, of the President pouring praises on Ndia MP, GK Kariuki, a few weeks ago at a rally in his constituency. In the footage, the President commends the legislator for his good work done, not only as chairman of the National Assembly Roads and Transport committee, but also a leader with a focused approach and singular desire to serve the people. Tellingly, the President went further that the people didn’t need leaders who talked too much instead of serving the electorate. He added that he had worked with the Ndia MP and would work with him in the future.

To the non-discerning ear, these sounded like ordinary words at a political rally. But given the circumstances and dynamics around Kenya’s politics this season, it is easy to ask the big question: was the President’s unequivocal endorsement of the Hon GK Kariuki a cryptic message about future political roles? In the chaos of the ongoing debates, this footage never made it to national discourse, but may in fact form a future reference as the Mt Kenya political evolution happens. Might the Ndia MP be the 2024 version of Moi’s Saitoti in 1988?

Those who have worked with the MP, both in Parliament and among the electorate in Ndia, say he is a man of few words, but an effective leader who delivers fully on every role he takes on. Apart from guiding his Roads and Transport Committee through difficult and controversial national issues, his NGCDF portfolio is said to be one of the best managed in the country, if not indeed the best. Besides, his political and private sector careers are devoid of the scandals that bedevil many politicians.

The youthful MP has already proven himself to be a champion of schools and churches in his locality, the two sectors with the widest reach in terms of grassroots networks. Nearly every week, he is back home launching several school projects funded by NGCDF. The father of three, whose humility and empathy are generously mentioned within Ndia constituency, is yet to state if he has higher ambitions. But it is not difficult to see that his star is on the rise. After all, a presidential mention at a major rally doesn’t happen every day.

Kariuki is a typical face of the mountain. A Kirinyaga native whose parents moved from Muranga county, the Ndia lawmaker can trace familial ties to at least nine of the Mount Kenya counties. He also boasts investment and business interests in several. As a potential regional leader of his people, these ties and interests ensure a grounding and attachment that go beyond just the political realm.

Mount Kenya East, encompassing Meru, Tharaka Nithi and Embu counties have already laid down the gauntlet, by declaring that their kingpin would henceforth be Interior CS Kithure Kindiki. In Mount Kenya West and its diaspora, nine counties, about 60 legislators have indicated that they too would support Kindiki.

But in the latter case, the gripe is over Gachagua’s perceived divisive character, rather than a sustainable belief in the leadership of Kindiki. One indeed suspects that legislators from Mount Kenya West who have severed ties with the DP and opted to back Kindiki are doing so only because in the short term, they have no identifiable leader whom they feel they can rally around.

In these things, the casual view often misses the bull’s eye. But the President himself, as a consumer of intelligence at the highest level, has uttered words that may carry more weight than at first glance. Indeed, beyond just Gachagua and Mount Kenya succession politics, the Ndia MP remains a man on a mission and a person to watch in the changing dynamics. Currently said to be pursuing a master’s degree in public policy management at Strathmore Business School, the erudite legislator is primed for take-off into the big league!

The writer is political commentator