Irungu Nyakera has rejected claims that the Mt Kenya region is politically tribal, arguing that voting patterns from the last general election tell a very different story.
Speaking after remarks made by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Kameme FM on Wednesday morning, Nyakera highlighted figures showing that the GEMA bloc gave Raila Odinga 1.54 million votes in the previous election. This, he noted, was more than the 1.48 million votes Raila received from the four Luo Nyanza counties.
Nyakera contrasted this with voting trends in parts of the Rift Valley, stating that Nandi, Kericho, Uasin Gishu, Bomet, and Elgeyo Marakwet counties collectively gave Raila Odinga about 106,000 votes, while handing President William Ruto approximately 1.2 million votes in the same election.
“These numbers matter,” Nyakera said, arguing that they expose the dishonesty of claims that Mt Kenya votes purely along ethnic lines.
Despite this data, Nyakera said some individuals within the ruling UDA party are still attempting to label Mt Kenya as tribal, a move he described as a deliberate effort to revive the ethnic blame narrative associated with the 2007 post-election period.
He warned that such rhetoric is both divisive and misleading, urging political actors to engage honestly with facts rather than weaponizing ethnicity for short-term political gain.
“Those pushing this narrative should first look at the log in their own eye before pointing at a speck,” Nyakera said.
His remarks come amid rising political tensions ahead of the 2027 elections, with regional voting patterns and accusations of ethnic politics increasingly shaping national debate. Nyakera’s intervention seeks to reframe the conversation around data, responsibility, and the need to move beyond ethnic scapegoating in Kenya’s democratic discourse.https://x.com/wnyakera/status/2010614619216494935?s=20
