DCP Turns Heat on CS Ruku, Warns Against Splitting Mt Kenya Bloc

Embu DCP leaders when they addressed the press in Embu town on Monday, December 22, 2025. MWINGI TIMES|Brian Musyoka

The leaders accused the CS of engaging in dangerous political rhetoric that points to a possible plan to split the Mt Kenya region into two political blocs, a move they warned could inflame ethnic tensions and undermine national cohesion.

Speaking during a press briefing in Embu town on Monday 22nd December 2025 , the DCP leaders, led by Embu  Chairperson Joshua Kanake, said Ruku’s sentiments were reckless, divisive and unbecoming of a senior government official entrusted with national unity.

“These remarks are not accidental. They are calculated and politically motivated, aimed at sowing seeds of disunity among communities in Mt Kenya who have lived together peacefully for decades,” Kanake said.

He warned that such utterances, if left unchecked, risk reopening  political wounds in a region that has historically voted as a bloc but is now facing internal realignments ahead of 2027.

The leaders further questioned the silence of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), accusing the watchdog of selective application of the law when it comes to leaders allied to the ruling establishment.

“It is worrying that NCIC has gone quiet on this matter. When ordinary citizens speak, action is swift, but when Cabinet Secretaries make divisive remarks, there is deafening silence,” Kanake added.

DCP National Executive Committee member Steve Simba escalated the pressure, calling on Parliament to initiate impeachment proceedings against the CS, arguing that his remarks amount to ethnic polarization and tribal balkanization.

“We want to call upon Parliament to initiate an impeachment motion against CS Ruku over his tribal balkanization and ethnicity polarization. Such utterances should never come from a Cabinet Secretary,” Simba said.

Simba noted that Cabinet members are expected to rise above regional politics and instead champion unity, cohesion and equal development across the country.

The leaders maintained that every Kenyan has a constitutional right to live, work and participate politically in any part of the country without being subjected to tribal labeling or regional exclusion.

“Mt Kenya does not belong to one group or another. It belongs to all Kenyans who call it home. Dividing people along ethnic or regional lines is a betrayal of our Constitution,” Simba added.

Jane Karimi, turned her guns on Embu Governor Cecily Mbarire, accusing her of tacitly supporting the narrative of splitting the Mt Kenya region for political expediency. "It is unfortunate and disappointing that a governor would be associated with calls to divide Mt Kenya. Such a push should not come from her office,” Karimi said.

She warned that leaders elected to serve should focus on development and service delivery rather than engaging in politics of exclusion and supremacy.

The DCP leaders urged President Dr William Ruto to act decisively, warning that failure to rein in senior officials accused of divisive politics could erode public trust in his administration’s commitment to national unity. They called on political leaders across the Mt Kenya region to reject rhetoric that pits communities against each other, saying the future of the region and the country lies in unity, inclusivity and issue-based politics as the 2027 elections draw closer.

Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes Geoffrey Ruku recently ignited political debate after openly arguing that Mt Kenya East should chart its own independent political path, separate from what he termed the dominance of Mt Kenya West in regional politics. Speaking at various public forums, Ruku said the eastern bloc of the mountain has for decades voted as part of a larger Mt Kenya basket but has little to show in terms of top national leadership and equitable resource allocation.