By The Weekly Vision Reporter
President William Ruto and former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua will both be in the United States this September, a coincidence in timing that has fuelled weeks of speculation in Nairobi about a possible face-to-face meeting between the two estranged former allies.
Sources within political circles in Nairobi have told The Weekly Vision that no such meeting has been arranged. A closer look at the political calculations facing both men, however, suggests that even if a meeting were being considered, neither side has a compelling reason to make it happen, or to acknowledge it publicly if it did.
Gachagua left Kenya on 26 August for an approximately 50-day tour of the United States, which his Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) has described as a programme of rest, diaspora fundraising and strategic planning ahead of the 2027 General Election. President Ruto, meanwhile, is expected in New York for the 81st United Nations General Assembly, which opens on 8 September. Beyond the overlap in their time in the US, no shared schedule, venue or public event has been identified. Several political considerations also work against a meeting, particularly for the President.
Ruto’s administration invested considerable political capital in Gachagua’s impeachment in October 2024, following allegations including corruption and conduct deemed to undermine the presidency. A public, or even leaked, meeting between the two could be interpreted as an implicit acknowledgement that their political rupture was not as definitive as previously portrayed. That could complicate the government’s narrative surrounding Gachagua’s removal from office.
Since their fallout, Ruto has sought to rebuild his political support in the Mt Kenya region without Gachagua, courting rival political figures and former DCP allies. Any visible sign of rapprochement with Gachagua could unsettle those emerging relationships. Some of these alliances have been built on the assumption that Gachagua is no longer a serious political force, or, at the very least, that he is operating outside Ruto’s political camp.
A meeting could therefore create uncertainty among leaders and supporters who have repositioned themselves since the fallout. DCP Secretary-General designate John Methu has publicly rejected the possibility of a pre-election arrangement between Gachagua and Ruto, describing such a pact as a “confirmed impossibility”.
Although his remarks were directed at the possibility of a political pact rather than a meeting, they reflect DCP’s current public posture: that an accommodation with Ruto is not under consideration. That position also reduces the political incentive for Ruto’s side to initiate contact.
For Gachagua, the political risks may be equally significant. Since his impeachment in October 2024, he has increasingly positioned himself and the DCP as part of the opposition effort to remove Ruto from office in 2027. He has repeatedly accused the President and his allies of orchestrating his impeachment.
A confirmed meeting, or even credible reports of one, could provide Gachagua’s political opponents with ammunition to question his commitment to the opposition cause. It could also fuel speculation about a secret political bargain, potentially undermining the anti-Ruto message around which his political mobilisation has been built.
Methu’s public denial of a possible pact came amid speculation surrounding Gachagua’s US tour. The timing is significant politically. By publicly closing the door on an arrangement with Ruto, DCP appears keen to prevent speculation about reconciliation from gaining momentum while Gachagua is abroad.
Whether such denials would survive a change in political circumstances is another matter. Kenyan politics has repeatedly demonstrated that today’s enemies can become tomorrow’s allies. The stated purpose and itinerary of Gachagua’s US tour also offer little indication of an intended encounter with Ruto. His programme includes stops in Spokane, Portland, Kansas, Dallas and Boston, with diaspora engagement, fundraising and political mobilisation forming the central themes.
The itinerary does not place him prominently in Washington or New York, where a meeting with Ruto would be more readily accommodated, nor has any publicly announced event connected the two men during the President’s expected attendance at the UN General Assembly. None of these factors makes a meeting impossible.
Kenyan politics has a long history of dramatic political reversals, particularly when circumstances change, and former rivals discover common interests. Ruto and Gachagua’s own 2022 alliance emerged after years in which the two had occupied opposing political camps.
Moses Kuria, a Ruto adviser, has openly suggested that a rapprochement before the 2027 election cannot be ruled out. He has even challenged Gachagua to publicly rule out such a possibility under oath. Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei has also claimed that Gachagua has been attempting to reach out to the President. If accurate, that would suggest at least some appetite for contact on Gachagua’s side, although there is no comparable public evidence demonstrating that Ruto is seeking such an encounter.
For now, therefore, the balance of publicly available statements, political incentives, and published schedules points more toward the two men not meeting in the US than toward a secretly arranged encounter.
That is an assessment, not a confirmed fact. Kenyan politics is notoriously fluid, and a private meeting could be arranged with little or no advance public notice. For the moment, however, the speculation appears to be running ahead of the evidence.
