AKILLAH: After Mbeere Humbling, Gachagua Abruptly Drops ‘Mr Soprano’ Attacks on Kindiki

The shockwaves from the Mbeere North by-election have done what the impeachment couldn’t: silence Rigathi Gachagua’s relentless attacks on Deputy President Kithure Kindiki.

For months, Gachagua weaponised the nickname “Mr Soprano”, hurling it at Kindiki as a mocking dig at his calm demeanour. But after his preferred candidate Newton Karish was floored by UDA’s Leonard Muthende in the November 27 mini-poll, the former DP has abruptly and tellingly gone mute.

The race was pitched as Gachagua’s comeback stage. Instead, it exposed the thinning edges of his influence. He descended on Mbeere with the usual bombast: fiery rallies, barbs at President William Ruto, claims of betrayal, and wild allegations of pre-marked ballots. His US diaspora tour cut short to “mobilise” for the by-election only added to the spectacle. But voters weren’t buying drama — they wanted work.

Kindiki, meanwhile, played the quiet operator. No theatrics. No insults. Just granular organising: door-to-door canvassing, coordinated transport cells, village opinion leaders, and small but steady crowds. When results landed — Muthende victorious, Gachagua’s candidate embarrassed — the contrast was painfully clear.

And then came the silence.

In a region where Gachagua once ruled the narrative with swagger, the absence of his trademark taunts has been deafening. No digs at “Mr Soprano.” No chest-thumping about Mt Kenya unity. No counterpunch to Kindiki’s post-win remark: “This is Mt Kenya speaking.”

Analysts now say the Mbeere loss forced a strategic retreat. The ex-DP’s aura of inevitability has cracked; Kindiki’s star, long underestimated, has surged.

If politics is perception, then the message from Mbeere is brutal: after one bruising by-election, Rigathi Gachagua isn’t just quieter — he’s been humbled into silence.