Deputy President Kithure Kindiki on Wednesday held a high-level consultative meeting with Embu Governor Cecily Mbarire and County Assembly Majority Leader Peter Muriithi. 

The meeting, held at the backdrop of an intensifying internal fallout within the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA), centered on the status of ongoing national government projects and interventions to protect key agricultural value chains in the region.

In a statement issued after the meeting, DP Kindiki noted that the talks followed a similar engagement on Tuesday with Embu Senator Alexander Mundigi and the county’s Members of Parliament.

Discussions focused on the region’s vital agricultural sectors—particularly tea, coffee, macadamia, and cathus edulis (locally known as mũgũũka).

"Our dialogue with county leaders aims to harmonize development priorities and support agricultural livelihoods. Embu is a key player in national production chains," the DP said in a statement posted on his official channels. 

However, the meetings come amid rising political friction in Embu County, where Governor Mbarire—who also serves as UDA’s national chairperson—has publicly accused party operatives of attempting to sideline her from local affairs.

During Madaraka Day celebrations held at Makima Primary School in Mbeere South, Governor Mbarire alleged that powerful figures based in Nairobi have been convening clandestine meetings in Embu without involving her or other elected leaders.

"There are some leaders serving in government who are holding night meetings in Embu to plan local politics without involving me or other elected officials," Mbarire stated. "These individuals from Nairobi come here pretending to understand Embu politics, yet they are only sowing division." 

Visibly frustrated, Mbarire said her loyalty to the ruling coalition was being repaid with betrayal.

"If there’s anyone who has suffered for supporting this government, it’s me. We traversed every part of Embu asking people to vote for the government — now you come from Nairobi to fight us?" she posed. 

Although the governor did not name those behind the alleged scheme, she vowed to reveal their identities if the attempts to undermine her leadership continued.

"I dare you to come back to Embu again. We will face each other man-to-man. I am an elected leader, and you will respect me. I will not tolerate sabotage," she warned. [Byte]

Governor Mbarire’s escalating feud with national party operatives has not gone unnoticed. Notably, she was absent from both of DP Kindiki’s visits to the county last week. Her aides claimed she was not informed of the deputy president’s itinerary — including Tuesday’s meeting with Senator Mundigi, Woman Representative Njoki Njeru, MPs Eric Muchangi (Runyenjes) and Eng. Nebart Muriuki (Mbeere South), and Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku.

The tension between Mbarire and the Deputy President appears to date back to January, when Kindiki publicly rebuked her following an incident in which President William Ruto was heckled by youth during a visit to Embu. Kindiki questioned her authority and relevance within the party hierarchy.

"I spoke to my sister, the governor of Embu, not as Deputy President but as a fellow leader," Kindiki said at the time. "You’re the national chairperson of UDA, a UDA governor. The president comes to your county and is heckled — what justification is there to keep you in that role?"