Nyandarua Senator John Methu Muhia has ignited a storm after accusing President William Ruto of “abandoning” Mt Kenya by investing heavily in Homa Bay County, remarks that critics say mirror the poisonous tribal rhetoric that doomed impeached former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
In a fiery roadside address in Embu, Hon Methu lashed out at Ruto for launching projects in a county that “never voted for him,” even as taxpayers from across Kenya fund national development.
The President has made at least five visits to Homa Bay since 2022, unveiling roads, electrification, a Sh500 million pier, and blue-economy investments in what State House frames as equitable growth.
Methu’s claims drew instant backlash online, with Kenyans dismissing his “us-versus-them” politics as outdated entitlement from a region that already produced three presidents in 30 years. “Kwani Homa Bay sio Kenya?” one user asked, as others accused Mt Kenya leaders of clinging to Gachagua’s discredited “shareholding” doctrine.
Gachagua, impeached in October 2024 on charges ranging from corruption to ethnic incitement, left behind a legacy of toxic tribal mobilization that nearly fractured the republic.
Observers warn that Methu’s rhetoric risks reviving the same divisions, even as Ruto pushes a broader national vision of inclusive development.
