The search for William Ruto’s running mate ahead of the 2022 General Election took a different turn before Rigathi Gachagua was finally handed the ticket, with Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro revealing that two high-profile professionals had first rejected offers to deputise the then presidential candidate.
Nyoro has disclosed that former Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia and Equity Group chief executive James Mwangi were both approached during the search but chose not to enter the race for the country’s second-highest office.
The revelation sheds new light on a process that was largely associated with Gachagua, current Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and former Kiambu governor William Kabogo, who is now the Cabinet Secretary for ICT.
Speaking to Citizen TV, Nyoro said the team supporting Ruto reached out to several potential candidates as it tried to find a suitable running mate.
"We approached several people to become running mates," Nyoro said during the interview.
Among those contacted was Macharia, who had served as Transport Cabinet Secretary.
"We approached the former CS for Transport, James Macharia, to become our running mate; he refused," he added.
Nyoro said Macharia was among those viewed as a possible choice because of his background and the need to consider regional balance when settling on Ruto’s deputy.
He said the team was also looking for someone who had not accumulated major political wounds or divisions, explaining why prominent figures outside active politics were being considered.
"We were looking for geography – which place has not produced this kind of a person, a person who is not having a lot of political majeraha (injury)," he said.
Nyoro said the political environment surrounding the United Democratic Alliance at the time also made it harder to convince established figures to join the party’s presidential campaign.
According to him, the UDA team had been weakened politically by the Jubilee administration and was not seen as an attractive option by some potential candidates.
Nyoro said the decision by those approached was understandable because people generally make political choices based on what works for them.
"Human beings are rational to make a decision based on your convenience. He said no," he said.
After Macharia declined, Nyoro said the team turned to Mwangi, the Equity Group chief executive, but he too rejected the proposal.
With both men out of consideration, the search continued until attention settled on politicians with established support bases.
The process eventually became a contest between Kindiki and Gachagua, with the two going through three rounds of voting during a lengthy meeting in Karen.
Kindiki won more votes during the internal exercise, but Gachagua was ultimately chosen by Ruto to become his running mate.
Nyoro said the process was much more difficult than the team had expected and lasted for more than a day.
"We thought it would be an easy task; we ended up spending over maybe 30 hours in that exercise," he said.
According to Nyoro, Kindiki received 28 votes in the final round while Gachagua secured only five.
Despite the figures, the decision eventually went in Gachagua’s favour.
Nyoro said that as the discussions continued, he went into another room together with Ruto and Gachagua for further talks.
"Gachagua pulled out his phone and said he would call Uhuru because he was also looking for them," Nyoro said.
He further claimed that Kindiki had only recently become reachable after being out of contact for about two years, and the team felt that selecting him would be unfair to Gachagua.
Nyoro, who was firmly backing Gachagua during the process, said he played a leading role in his campaign within the group.
"I was campaigning for Gachagua 100 per cent; I was his chief campaigner in that thing, we got five votes but won," he said.
Gachagua was unveiled as Ruto’s running mate at a UDA press conference the following day, bringing the prolonged selection process to an end.
Nyoro said the final decision was influenced by the potential political consequences of failing to accommodate the two men who were strongly pushing for Gachagua’s selection.
"I think Ruto weighed the situation and realised if he let go of these two stubborn people, he would have a problem," he said.
When asked whether the leaders had genuinely threatened to leave if their preferred candidate was not selected, Nyoro laughed and acknowledged that political pressure can sometimes involve threats.
"That morning, several leaders from Mt Kenya were absent at the presser," Nyoro said.
"Some of the leaders said they would not attend Ruto's rallies and they never went to those rallies."
Gachagua went on to serve as Deputy President after the Kenya Kwanza victory in the 2022 election, but his relationship with Ruto later broke down.
The disagreement eventually led to Gachagua’s impeachment in October 2024, after which Kindiki, who had lost the running mate contest in 2022, was appointed to replace him.
Nyoro, who remained close to Gachagua during the dispute with Ruto, also paid a political price for his position.
He was removed as chairperson of the Budget and Appropriations Committee after refusing to support the motion seeking Gachagua’s removal from office.