Attempts to divide Mount Kenya into eastern and western political blocs risk ignoring the deep social ties that have developed across the region over generations, former National Cohesion and Integration Commission commissioner Gitile Naituli has said.
Naituli argued that intermarriage, migration, settlement and years of political cooperation had brought communities across the mountain so close that an East-West political divide would not reflect the region's reality.
Speaking during a Radio Generation interview on Friday, he said the push to separate Mount Kenya East from the western side was being driven by politicians looking for a political platform rather than genuine differences among communities.
“The mountain is as united as united can be. That's just a creation of reactionary politicians. We leaders, people with no agenda to sell. Because if you have a record to sell, you settle the record. If you don't have a record, you divide the society,” he said.
The debate has gained fresh attention in 2026, with Mount Kenya East largely referring to Meru, Embu and Tharaka-Nithi, while Mount Kenya West is commonly associated with Kiambu, Murang'a, Nyeri, Nyandarua, Laikipia and parts of Nakuru and Kirinyaga.
Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku has emerged as the leading voice calling for the eastern bloc to pursue a separate political direction.
In December 2025, Ruku said Mount Kenya East should determine its own political future, while accusing the western side of having held greater influence over political and development decisions for years.
He repeated the argument in July and August 2026, saying communities in the eastern counties should negotiate their political interests separately.
The debate has increasingly been tied to the political future of Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, who hails from Tharaka-Nithi and is the first person from Mount Kenya East to serve as deputy president.
At Nembure Grounds in Embu County on August 15, 2026, councils of elders from Mount Kenya East endorsed Kindiki and asked Mount Kenya West to return what they described as years of political support for leaders from the western side.
They pointed to former presidents Jomo Kenyatta, Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta, as well as former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, in making their case.
Kindiki has, however, consistently rejected attempts to present Mount Kenya as permanently divided. In July 2026, he said there was nothing capable of separating the region and called on its communities to remain united.
His position has put him at the centre of the growing debate over whether Mount Kenya should continue negotiating politically as one region or pursue separate interests for its eastern and western sides.
Gachagua has also opposed the proposed political split.
During a church service in Kirinyaga County on July 19, 2026, he said he would travel to Meru and Embu to strengthen unity and rejected efforts to politically separate the mountain.
Energy Principal Secretary Alex Wachira has similarly spoken against the proposal.
Speaking in Narumoru, Kieni Constituency, on June 16, he said Mount Kenya had traditionally operated as one political bloc and warned that breaking it apart could reduce its strength when negotiating at the national level.
Wachira cited the Mau Mau liberation struggle as part of the shared history linking communities across the region.
For Naituli, however, the case for keeping Mount Kenya together is not simply about elections or political alliances. He based his argument on the social links that have grown between communities over many years.
“There is no east or west because the community is very heavily integrated. You call a meeting today in Meru town, you will be talking to the girls who are Merus, because East means basically Meru and then the West means the Gikuyu nation,” he said.
He said marriages between communities and the movement of people across the region had created relationships that could not simply be broken by political boundaries.
Naituli also pointed to Kenya's governments since independence, particularly those led by Jomo Kenyatta and Mwai Kibaki, as evidence that political cooperation between communities from both sides of the mountain had been longstanding.
He argued that Meru leaders had held important positions in governments led by politicians from Mount Kenya West, challenging claims that the eastern communities had always been excluded.
“There has never been discrimination by Kikuyus when we assist them to get the presidency. They have never made plans leaving Meru outside. They have always put the Merus in the centre,” he maintained.
The push for a separate political path has nevertheless found support among some leaders from Mount Kenya East.
Former Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi has acknowledged frustrations in the region, saying communities in the east want to engage presidential candidates directly on issues of development and political representation.
Nominated MP Sabina Chege has also recognised that people in Meru, Embu and Tharaka-Nithi have reasons to believe they have been politically disadvantaged, although she has cautioned against allowing those concerns to create a permanent regional division.
Opposition to the split has also emerged within Mount Kenya East itself.
On August 22, Embu Council of Elders chairman Andrew Ireri rejected resolutions reached at Nembure, saying they did not speak for the wider Embu elders' fraternity.
Ireri maintained that Mount Kenya should continue to exist as one political and cultural bloc.
Naituli warned that creating an East-West divide could also open the door to smaller divisions within the communities themselves.
“If you start seeing East and West, you will also separate inside there. But as I will separate the Meru's from Embu, and when you finish with that separation, you also start clan separation,” he maintained.
The debate now reflects two competing approaches to Mount Kenya's political future. One side is pushing for the eastern counties to negotiate their interests independently, while the other argues that shared history, family ties and long-standing political cooperation make the region stronger when it acts as one.