FORMER Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has made it clear that he will run for president in 2027 with the aim of toppling President William Ruto, whom he now accuses of “betraying and humiliating” him in the eyes of the nation. 

Addressing residents of Karatina in Nyeri County over the weekend, Gachagua officially announced that he had returned home to launch a political movement that will unite Mount Kenya and remove the current regime which he described as oppressive and full of intimidation. “I have returned from America with one intention – to apologize for the 2022 mistake of forcing Ruto on you and also to get your blessings to run for president in 2027.

 I will succeed Ruto,” Gachagua said to cheers from the crowd. Mr Gachagua strongly criticised President Ruto’s administration saying it is using authoritarian tactics, intimidation and corruption to divide Mount Kenya, to control votes in the region through “divide and rule” politics. “Ruto is sponsoring two politicians from Muranga to form a political party to take away my influence in Mlima. These are plots to divide us so that we lose our votes like what happened in 2002,” he added.

 Gachagua also alleged that President Ruto and his associates were involved in disrupting his return home from the US on August 21, 2025. He said he was forced to cancel preparations for a reception at JKIA and a large rally in Kamukunji due to threats of arrest and violence. “I expected to be welcomed with dignity by my supporters but political plots thwarted that plan.

 This is a clear sign that there are those who are afraid of the voice of the people,” he said. During his tour of Muranga, Kiambu and Nyeri counties, Gachagua outlined his four main objectives: to unite Mt Kenya, nurture the next generation of leaders, collaborate with other parts of the country and oust President Ruto from power democratically. While in Kenol, Muranga, Gachagua listed five tactics he claims President Ruto is using to weaken the opposition in the region: Bribing Mount Kenya leaders; sponsoring many presidential candidates from the region to divide votes, denying youths ID cards, harassing local leaders through lawsuits and arrests, continuing kidnappings, extrajudicial killings and cases of forced disappearances.

 Gachagua said Mount Kenya should not be divided again, and that it is time for the region to decide its own destiny. Meanwhile, the government through its spokesperson Isaac Mwaura has urged Gachagua and his supporters to abandon divisive politics and instead support President Ruto in his efforts to bring about development. 

However, Gachagua dismissed the statement, claiming that “real development cannot be brought about through bribery, political cronyism and treacherous plots.” He has promised to continue his visits to other parts of Mount Kenya and later take his campaigns to other corners of the country. "We will eliminate all those who collaborate with this oppressive government, from the President to his aides. 2027 is the year of the liberation of the people," he said in Mukuyu on Saturday.