President Ruto to visit Kiambu and Nyeri as he concludes week-long Mt Kenya tour

President William Ruto addresses residents of Embu town on April 4, 2025. PHOTO/PCS

President William Ruto will conclude his week-long tour of the Mt. Kenya region on Saturday with visits to Kiambu and Nyeri counties.

The President began his extensive tour of the restive region on April 1, his first in six months, following the impeachment of his former deputy, Rigathi Gachagua.

Ruto has toured Meru, Nyandarua, Kirinyaga, Tharaka Nithi, Murang’a, and Embu counties over the past four days and has received a warm reception despite initial concerns.

The President will inspect the ongoing construction of the Mau Mau Roads at Nyanduma in Lari, Kiambu, and will also inspect ongoing government projects such as the Githunguri County Integrated Industrial Park.

He will also assess the construction of cold rooms at various markets and the affordable housing projects in the county.

Ruto will launch the affordable housing project in Ruringu, Nyeri Town Constituency, and commission a fresh produce market in Othaya Constituency.

The tour of Kiambu County is of particular interest given that one of Ruto’s fiercest critics, Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba, comes from the region.

Wamuchomba is allied to Gachagua’s camp and has in recent times become a thorn in the government’s side, remaining critical of the Kenya Kwanza administration.

However, President Ruto recently appointed former Kiambu Governor William Kabogo as ICT Cabinet Secretary in a move to shore up his support in the county.

Several other leaders from Kiambu County support President Ruto, including Governor Kimani Wamatangi.

Observers argue that the President’s Mt. Kenya tour has largely been successful despite initial concerns about possible hostility.

During the tour, Ruto assured the region that he would work for them, asserting that no one would separate him from the people of Mt. Kenya.

President William Ruto has also taken another jibe at his former Deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, over the supremacy battle for Mt. Kenya, insisting that he still maintains a firm grip on the region.

Speaking in Maua, Meru County, on Wednesday, the President explained that his friendship with the region spans two decades and cannot be broken by an individual.

"The friendship I have built with the region goes beyond 20 years. No one can come between me and the people of Mt. Kenya," Ruto said.

Gachagua, elected as Ruto’s deputy in the 2022 General Election, was impeached by the Senate in October 2024. He has since rallied several political leaders from the Mt. Kenya region to oppose his former boss.

In a tell-all interview on March 30, Ruto addressed his fallout with Gachagua, claiming that his former deputy attempted to blackmail him.

“I was told, ‘I can make you a one-term president unless you give me Ksh.10 billion to organize politics in the region.’ I refused. If my fate is to be a one-term president, so be it,” Ruto told vernacular media stations on Sunday.