A confrontation between Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro and Kinangop MP Kwenya Thuku at St Paul’s Engineer ACK Church in Nyandarua has highlighted the increasingly competitive political environment taking shape in Mt Kenya ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The incident occurred on Sunday, September 20, when Nyoro attended a church service in Kinangop before proceeding to a political engagement in Engineer.
The disagreement centred on a message Nyoro said Thuku had sent before his visit, which he described as threatening. Thuku did not address the allegations during the church service, saying the matter was political and could be resolved separately.
Dispute over Nyoro’s visit
During the service, Nyoro questioned why politicians should require permission to visit areas outside their constituencies.
“I have been to many places, including Isiolo, and even when leaders come to Murang’a town, I don’t mind because I don’t own the town,” Nyoro said.
Nyoro also referred to the message he said he had received from Thuku and challenged him to make its contents public.
The confrontation created a tense moment during the service, although Thuku later sought to lower the temperature.
“I wanted to welcome my friend Nyoro so he knows he has a brother in Kinangop,” Thuku said, according to People Daily. He said he had attended the service out of respect and did not want the disagreement to dominate worship.
Reverend Sammy Wamucii also intervened, urging political leaders to keep political disagreements separate from church activities.
A changing political landscape
The disagreement has drawn attention because both politicians operate within a region where political alliances have been shifting ahead of the next election.
Nyoro, who leads the People’s Party of Kenya, has moved away from his previous association with the United Democratic Alliance and the Kenya Kwanza administration. He has increasingly used public engagements to advocate for a different political direction ahead of 2027.
Thuku, meanwhile, remains associated with the Kenya Kwanza political establishment and has highlighted government-backed development initiatives in Kinangop, including the elevation of Engineer to municipality status.
Their disagreement therefore brought two different political positions into the same setting.
The episode also comes amid wider debate over political leadership and influence in Mt Kenya. COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli has separately said political leadership in the region remains contested and that no single politician can claim undisputed leadership of Mt Kenya.
Competition ahead of 2027
The developments point to a political environment in which leaders are increasingly seeking support beyond their traditional constituencies.
For Nyoro, travelling to Kinangop provides an opportunity to engage voters and political actors outside Kiharu as he develops his own political platform. For leaders such as Thuku, the arrival of politicians from outside their constituencies can raise questions about local political networks and leadership structures.
The issue is not limited to the two MPs.
Across Mt Kenya, politicians are taking different positions on President William Ruto, emerging political parties and possible alliances ahead of the 2027 election. The region’s political landscape is therefore being shaped not only by competition between government and opposition but also by disagreements among politicians within the region.
The Nyoro-Thuku confrontation offers a local example of that wider realignment.
As the 2027 election approaches, similar encounters could become more common as politicians expand their political networks, test new alliances and seek support outside their established constituencies.
For voters, the significance of the Engineer incident lies less in the disagreement itself and more in what it illustrates about the changing political space in Mt Kenya — where established networks, new political formations and competing ambitions are increasingly meeting on the ground.
