Laikipia Woman Representative Jane Kagiri has come out swinging, telling off residents of Nyeri, Murang’a and Kiambu for trying to bully her into joining the chorus of Mt Kenya leaders bashing President William Ruto’s government.
In a no-holds-barred interview on Thursday, Kagiri accused her Mt Kenya neighbours of hypocrisy, saying they were quick to brand her a traitor whenever she refused to sing from their hymn sheet.
“Our people from Nyeri, Murang’a and Kiambu, you are telling me to say the government is not good, and if I don’t, you call me a betrayer. You are the biggest betrayers,” the Woman Rep fired back, her frustration evident.
Kagiri’s outburst lays bare the growing fault lines within Mt Kenya as the region’s political elite jostle for position ahead of the 2027 succession battle, with some leaders abandoning Ruto’s camp while others dig in their heels.
The Laikipia MP appeared fed up with what she described as relentless pressure to turn against the government, suggesting that those demanding she toe the line were themselves guilty of the very betrayal they accused her of.
Her remarks will sting in Nyeri, Murang’a and Kiambu, counties that have historically wielded outsized influence in Mt Kenya politics and have been at the centre of recent political realignments that have seen governors and other leaders decamp from the ruling UDA party.
Kagiri’s defence of Ruto comes as the President faces growing headwinds in the region, with a section of Mt Kenya politicians in the President’s camp calculating that their fortunes may lie elsewhere come 2027.
But the Woman Rep is having none of it, essentially telling her opponents that she will not be stampeded into abandoning the government simply because it has become fashionable to do so.
The label of “betrayer,” a loaded term in Mt Kenya politics, appears to have touched a raw nerve, prompting her to turn the tables and fling the accusation back at those hurling it her way.
