“You Are Not The Mt Kenya Kingpin!” – Karua Tells Gachagua

“You Are Not The Mt Kenya Kingpin!” – Karua Tells Gachagua

Political tensions within the United Opposition continue to rise, with People’s Liberation Party leader Martha Karua rejecting the concept that former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is Mt Kenya’s political kingpin.

In an interview with Radio Maisha, Karua denied the growing belief that Gachagua now demands the devotion of the vote-rich central Kenya region.

However, Gachagua has become the face of the opposition and Mt Kenya insurrection.

Karua stated that high visibility and numerous political visits do not equate to leadership or electoral authority.

“Alichaguliwa wapi? [Where was he elected?] It is not to say that the one who shouts the most owns the property,” Karua said.

“Even in a matatu, the conductor is more popular than the driver. No election has ever made any single person the kingpin. You may be heard. That does not mean you are the kingpin.”

“Being the loudest does not make him the kingpin of the Mt. Kenya region,”

says Martha Karua

After being asked whether Rigathi Gachagua was the kingpin. pic.twitter.com/jaEAKHZM9t— DP 🇰🇪 (@DanChepta) May 30, 2026

The PLP leader also stated that former President Uhuru Kenyatta, who has been criticized as the regional leader, is not the kingpin.

“Uhuru is a former president. It does not mean he is the kingpin,” she said.

Pressed on whether any leader currently occupies the top political position in Mt Kenya, Karua insisted that no single individual can claim leadership over the entire voting bloc.

On her part, she positioned herself as an independent political force in her own right and among the leaders in the region.

“There are leaders, and I am one of them.”

She added that even at the time Gachagua extended an olive branch, he did have much influence in Mt Kenya, and that he took advantage of a region that had already rebelled against the government.

The former Justice minister added that Gachagua’s current prominence owes more to timing and political realignment than to any organic grassroots mandate.

“Remember, before I came to an understanding with Gachagua, he did not have that voice,” she said.

“He got it later because he was in UDA, and people had already left UDA. You cannot say that because he walks around a lot, he is the kingpin,” she said.

This is the second time Karua has publicly rejected Gachagua’s kingpin status, signaling growing friction within the opposition’s ranks.

In a previous interview in May, Karua dismissed Gachagua’s claims to regional dominance in Mt Kenya, stating that he is “not the Mt Kenya kingpin”.

Instead, she described the former deputy president as “just a party leader like me or Uhuru Kenyatta.”

“Mt Kenya people had already left the government while he was still deputy president. He found us here,” she said.

While the two have previously cooperated politically, Karua was careful to clarify that she does not answer to either Gachagua or Uhuru, both of whom are in the United Opposition.

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“He is not my leader. And I am not under Uhuru. I respect him greatly, but I am not under him,” she said of Gachagua.

“He is a party leader, and I am a party leader. Let that be known by everyone. I respect every leader. But no one should say that I am under him.”

“Sijasema mimi ni Kingpin ya mulima, hakuna kiti kama hicho. Kama kuna mtu ako na haja nayo achukue!”~Gachagua addresses rumours of looming differences with Martha Karua pic.twitter.com/z99r8allmM— Ⓝⓖ’ⓞⓡⓞⓡⓘⓔⓣ🐐🇰🇪 (@baroswahjr) April 25, 2026

Karua’s remarks come at a sensitive moment for the opposition, which is facing internal working challenges, even as they seek a unified front to challenge Ruto in 2027.

In a recent interview, Jubilee deputy party Jeremiah Kioni said that Karua was on her way out of the United Opposition due to a lack of clarity in the camp.

Karua’s remarks are a signal that not all opposition figures are willing to cede regional leadership, potentially setting the stage for a battle over who truly speaks for central Kenya ahead of 2027.

“You Are Not The Mt Kenya Kingpin!” – Karua Tells Gachagua