When Cabinet Secretaries Mutahi Kagwe (Agriculture), Lee Kinyanjui (Trade) and William Kabogo (ICT) were sworn-in on January 17, they were expected to reclaim the rebellious Mt Kenya region for President Ruto, a task proving to be an uphill battle.
Their appointment was described as a grand political chess move, with government apologists and bloggers claiming that President Ruto had "brokered a deal to completely paralyze the villager movement" led by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
Government sympathizers argued that President Ruto had strategically cut off the financial and institutional support that could have sustained Gachagua's political movement. "While Gachagua may still hold sway in Mt Kenya West, he has suffered a fatal political blow.
His influence beyond the region is now nearly impossible.
