NAIROBI, Kenya Feb 13 – Leaders from the Mt Kenya region have firmly rejected reported demands by the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) to take up the Deputy President’s position as part of negotiations within the broad-based government arrangement.
Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki on Thursday said leaders from the region are perturbed and concerned by what he termed as ODM’s irreducible minimum demands particularly the push for the seat currently held by Kithure Kindiki.
“We are very perturbed and concerned by the demands of ODM that the irreducible minimums they want from the broad-based government is the seat of the Deputy President,” Njuki said.
Kindiki, who hails from Tharaka Nithi County, enjoys backing from leaders in the Mt Kenya region, who now insist the position is off the table in any political negotiations.
“Us from the Mountain Kenya region, we are saying that is a seat that is not negotiable. As far as we are in the broad-based government, the seat of the Deputy President is not negotiable. It has to remain with Deputy President Kithure Kindiki,” Njuki declared.
The governor’s remarks signal growing resistance within President William Ruto’s political stronghold amid reports of behind-the-scenes talks aimed at strengthening cooperation between the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and ODM.
In a surprising twist, however, Njuki suggested what he termed a very simple compromise should ODM insist on the Deputy President’s seat of having him decamp to ODM.
“However, should ODM insist that they want DP Kindiki’s seat, then we are going to make the very simple compromise because the President is UDA and they want the DP to be ODM. We can let Kindiki be in ODM and he can remain the Deputy President of this country,” he said.
This coming days after ODM leader Oburu Oginga clarified the party’s position on the Deputy President seat ahead of the 2027 General Election.
During ODM National Executive Committee in Mombasa , he said the seat remains a key target for the Orange Democratic Movement.
Oburu addressed claims that his earlier remarks had been misunderstood regarding ODM’s interest in the position and the current office holder.
“There was something that people misinterpreted. They claimed that I said that ODM does not want the DP seat, but that’s the position we have our eyes on. What I said is that we do not have a personal grudge or issue with Kindiki, but that seat is a public position,” he said.
Kindiki has undergone a striking metamorphosis. The soft-spoken law professor has traded his urbane, measured tones for a more abrasive and combative political stylea shift many attribute to the high-stakes pressure of his current office.
Political Analyst often argue that a Deputy President is forced into a binary existence,they must function as either a loyal lapdog or a fierce attack dog and frequently both. They can never afford to be neither.
Until recently, Kindiki’s current persona was unthinkable. He was defined by his composure, rarely raising his voice or straying from his gentlemanly roots. However, during the Mbeere North by-election, that version of Kindiki vanished. In its place stood a politician unsparing in his rhetoric, dialling up the decibels to take on the ‘Goliaths’ of the political arena.
