The two have enhanced efforts to woo Jubilee legislators to their wing with back-to-back meetings to sway the lot.
On Monday, Ruto and Gachagua hosted a group of Jubilee MPs, triggering speculation of a looming mass exodus from the former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s party.
The President hosted the legislators, most of them from Mt Kenya, at State House in Nairobi.
The meeting came only two days after the DP held a closed-door meeting with the lot in his Harambee House Annex office.
They included Lamu Senator Joseph Githuku, EALA MP Kanini Kega and nominated MP Sabina Chege.
Others were Stanley Muthama (Lamu West), David Kiaraho (Ol Kalou), Irene Njoki (Bahati), Zachary Kwenya (Kinangop) and Shadrack Mwiti (South Imenti).
Also in attendance were Mark Mwenje (Embakasi West), Amos Mwago (Starehe) and Daniel Karitho (Igembe Central).
“We must build a bigger and better team that will work together to effectively prosecute the agenda of the people of Kenya. We cannot move our country forward by leaving others behind,” the President said after the meeting.
On Monday, the MPs were silent on what transpired in the meeting, with calls and text massages going unanswered.
“Let me not comment anything for now, please,” Senator Githuku told the Star on phone.
Calls and messages sent to Sabina, Kega, Mwenje, Kiaraho and Mwago went unanswered.
Jubilee is one of the anchor parties of the Azimio coalition that was hurriedly formed in the run up to the August 9 general election to propel Raila to power.
Other key parties are ODM, Kalonzo Musyoka’s Wiper, Gideon Moi’s Kanu and Martha Karua’s Narc Kenya.
Splitting Azimio will be a big blow to Raila who on Monday activated his anti-government rallies.
In their meeting with DP last week, Gachagua said they discussed development of their respective areas.
“We discussed issues touching on development in the respective areas of representation. Elections are over and we must work together irrespective of our political affiliation,” the DP said.
However, pundits said that there could more than meets the eye in the meetings that have come in the wake of Gachagua’s public announcement that he was "keen to bring home those who strayed to Jubilee."
In November last year, the DP had said he rallied his Mt Kenya troops to elect Kega for East Africa Legislative Assembly post as part of his efforts to bring him and others back home.
“I spoke to the leaders from the mountain. I told them this Kanini Kega was insulting me and President William Ruto (but) they should vote for him. Did they or did they not vote for him? That’s the new Kenya we want,” Gachagua said.
“We brought back Kanini...he had lost direction a little bit. We want to do it progressively until they fall in place,” he added.
“Hata huyu Sabina Chege, mtu ya Jubilee, tutaweka fertiliser akuje sawa sawa (even Sabina Chege, a member of Jubilee, we will talk to her so that she can join us).”
Later, Kega appeared to endorse Gachagua as Mt Kenya kingpin to replace Uhuru.
“Gachagua did well in uniting the Mt. Kenya region. He is the only senior leader we have. We need to rally behind him as a region,” he said.
“I want to thank Gachagua who saw that Mt Kenya region will have a problem if we are not represented in East Africa Legislative Assembly.”
Kega and Chege were the closest allies of the former President Kenyatta who fiercely criticised Ruto and vigorously campaigned for Raila in the vote rich Mt Kenya region.
Former Nyeri Town MP Njunjiri Wambugu has also endorsed the DP as the new political kingpin of the region.
“Gachagua is right now the most senior leader from Mt Kenya in government. That puts him ahead of the pack,” Wambugu, who remained loyal to Uhuru in the 2022 campaigns and elections, said.
(edited by Amol Awuor)
