{"id":796140,"date":"2026-03-10T11:42:38","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T08:42:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/news\/?p=796140"},"modified":"2026-03-10T11:44:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T08:44:07","slug":"justin-muturi-ruto-running-mate-2022-gachagua","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/news\/2026\/03\/justin-muturi-ruto-running-mate-2022-gachagua\/","title":{"rendered":"Muturi explains why Rigathi Gachagua became Ruto\u2019s running mate in 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 10 \u2014 President William Ruto abandoned plans to make Justin Muturi his running mate in the 2022 elections due to party pressures and the need to secure votes from the influential Mt. Kenya region, the Democratic Party leader has revealed.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking about the selection process, Muturi said that on the night before the running mate was announced, Ruto called him from Mombasa and requested a meeting in Karen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the meeting, he explained that leaders within UDA had insisted the running mate had to come from UDA and from Mt. Kenya,\u201d Muturi recounted in an interview on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe also told me that because I belonged to another party, the Democratic Party, I could not join UDA, and therefore the earlier promise could not be fulfilled.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Muturi said he understood Ruto\u2019s position and told him it was okay, noting that the president appeared visibly relieved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision came amid a broader contest in which then Tharaka Nithi Senator Kithure Kindiki had reportedly won the UDA Electoral College and opinion polls, but was edged out due to \u201cother considerations,\u201d including questions about his ability to mobilize votes from the Mt. Kenya region. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kindiki had alluaded to the process terming it as fair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere were other considerations\u2026 that were not part of the formal electoral college but were considered in informal discussions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doubts <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Muturi revealed that Ruto had also expressed doubts about Kindiki\u2019s political reach, noting that people in Mt. Kenya were even asking whether he was Maasai because he could hardly speak Kikuyu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kindiki Nominated as Deputy President After Gachagua\u2019s Historic Impeachment<\/a><\/blockquote>