President William Ruto does not need enemies in the Mountain; his friends are doing a fine job of sabotaging him. As the President attempts to stabilize his administration, a faction of vocal Mt Kenya MPs has morphed from being his vanguard into his most significant political liability, creating a wedge between the Head of State and the region's restless electorate.

In a biting analysis, political commentator Antony Ikonya Mwaniki argues that the very legislators who rode the "Hustler" wave to Parliament are now drowning the President's agenda in petty grievances and tone-deaf rhetoric. Instead of selling the government's successes—like the stabilizing shilling or the subsidized fertilizer program—these MPs are embroiled in ceaseless succession wars and village-level squabbles that make the administration look distracted and disjointed.

The "Village Kingpin" Syndrome

The core of the problem lies in the "Village Kingpin" syndrome. Many of these MPs, Mwaniki notes, are obsessed with local dominance rather than national delivery.

• Succession Distraction: While the President is focused on 2027 and economic recovery, his allies in the region are prematurely fighting over who will be the region's kingpin in 2032.
• Alienating the Ground: By constantly attacking each other and even the Deputy President, they are signaling to the voter that the government is at war with itself.
• Policy Silence: Critically, they have failed to articulate how the government’s policies benefit the coffee and tea farmer, leaving a vacuum that opposition voices are happily filling.

A Region in Flux

The Mount Kenya region is notoriously transactional politically; it supports you as long as you deliver. The current restlessness on the ground—evident in the murmurs at local *barazas*—is being fueled by the perception that their representatives are "eating" rather than working. Mwaniki warns that if Ruto does not rein in his "friends," he risks entering the next election cycle with a fractured base.

"The President needs soldiers who can shoot straight," the op-ed concludes. "Right now, his Mt Kenya battalion is busy shooting themselves in the foot—and the ricochets are hitting State House." For Ruto, the time to cut the baggage may be fast approaching.