Rigathi Gachagua’s brand of tribal arithmetic and “shareholding” politics may excite a narrow base, but it is quietly suffocating Kalonzo Musyoka’s presidential ambitions. Instead of elevating Kalonzo, Gachagua’s approach is boxing him in—shrinking his coalition, alienating key regions, and casting him as a leader chained to one community’s demands.
The moment Gachagua declared that Nairobi seats “belong” to Kikuyus, he didn’t just ignite outrage; he dragged Kalonzo into an ethnic corner. Nairobi is the country’s most diverse county. Any politician who frames it as property of a single tribe runs head-first into national backlash. By standing beside Gachagua during such declarations, Kalonzo is seen—fairly or unfairly—as endorsing a narrow, exclusionary worldview.
The problem deepens with Gachagua’s “50% shareholding” doctrine. His repeated claim that Mt Kenya must receive half of all government positions if Kalonzo forms the next administration is politically poisonous. For other regions, it signals that the door is already closed. That the pie has already been sliced. That their interests are secondary to a pre-negotiated tribal pact.
How does Kalonzo campaign in Western, Coast, Northeastern, or even Rift Valley while burdened by the perception that top seats are already booked? How does he promise inclusion when Gachagua publicly allocates half the government to one bloc?
The thanksgiving event in Kariobangi only tightened the noose. Announcing that DCP will field the governor, senate, and woman rep candidates in Nairobi made the alliance look less like a partnership and more like territorial conquest. Instead of growing Kalonzo’s reach, it boxed him into Gachagua’s tribal frame.
In a country desperate for leaders who rise above ethnic politics, Gachagua’s strategy is dragging Kalonzo in the opposite direction. And unless Kalonzo breaks free from this tribal straitjacket, Gachagua’s politics may cost him the very presidency he’s chasing.
