Rigathi Gachagua’s claim that “Kikuyus are the majority in Nairobi and therefore should lead the city” is misleading — the numbers, studies and recent city leadership tell a different story.
According to Kenya’s 2019 Population and Housing Census, the Kikuyu are the single largest ethnic group in the country — about 8,148,668 people, roughly 17.1% of Kenya’s population. Other large groups recorded in the same census include the Luhya (≈ 6,823,842), Kalenjin (≈ 6,358,113), Luo (≈ 5,066,966) and Kamba (≈ 4,663,910). These national totals show why the Kikuyu are prominent nationally, but they are national figures — not a direct statement about Nairobi’s internal ethnic makeup.
When researchers and demographers examine Nairobi specifically, they emphasise that the city is highly multi-ethnic and spatially mixed. Recent academic work using samples of the 2019 census finds that the five largest groups in Nairobi (Kikuyu, Luhya, Kisii, Luo and Kamba) together make up roughly around 70–80% of the city’s population — but crucially no single group is shown to form an outright majority. Urban-studies analyses and the National Cohesion commission’s diversity audits both describe Nairobi as cosmopolitan and plural, with distinct ethnic clusters but no numerical monopoly by any one community. That undermines claims that Kikuyu people are a clear numeric “majority” of Nairobi residents.
On the question of business ownership: it is true that Kikuyu entrepreneurs are highly visible across many sectors of Kenya’s economy, and ethnic networks do influence trade and small-business formation. But Nairobi’s economy is layered — multinational firms, banks, large manufacturers, institutional investors and entrepreneurs from many communities all operate in the city. Scholarly work on Nairobi’s informal and formal sectors shows a mixture of ethnic participation (Somalis prominent in some trading corridors, Kisii in produce logistics, Kamba and others in jua kali and retail, Luo and Luhya in varied professional and transport niches), so the statement that one group “owns most businesses” is an overstatement and lacks empirical support. Economic power in a city is distributed across many communities and institutional owners, not reducible to a single tribe.
Finally, recent electoral outcomes in Nairobi show the city does not deliver uniform support on an ethnic basis. Looking at the county’s own recent leaders illustrates this political pluralism:Evans Kidero (2013–2017) — Luo. Mike Mbuvi Sonko (2017–2020, impeached) — of Kamba heritage. Anne Kananu Mwenda (acting governor after Sonko’s removal, 2020–2022) — from Tharaka Nithi County. Johnson Arthur Sakaja (elected governor 2022 — incumbent) — hails from the Sabaot sub-group.
Those recent transitions show Nairobi has been led by politicians from different communities, reflecting shifting alliances, candidate appeal and urban political dynamics rather than any permanent ethnic entitlement.
VERDICT: Gachagua’s claim mixes national census prominence with local reality; while Kikuyu are Kenya’s largest tribe nationally, there is no strong evidence that they are a numeric majority in Nairobi or that they “own most businesses” to the extent that it justifies exclusive political control of the capital. Leadership in Nairobi has been and remains determined by elections, coalitions and urban issues, not by tribal ownership.
