Nyeri Governor Edward Mutahi Kahiga has hinted at a possible rift within the ruling Kenya Kwanza alliance.

Kahiga on Sunday said the people of the Mount Kenya region will not allow Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua to be mistreated. 

Speaking in Kieni during a church event attended by Gachagua, the governor cited how President William Ruto was allegedly mistreated when deputised former President Uhuru Kenyatta.   

Kahiga said at the time, the people of Mt. Kenya stood with Ruto after witnessing his tribulations as deputy president. 

"I want to say here in front of everyone, we will not allow our son (Gachagua) to go through what Ruto went through in the hands of Uhuru Kenyatta. We will not allow our son to be mistreated. We will not," Mutahi said amid cheers from the congregation. 

He added that Gachagua was not appointed to his current position, rather he was elected like any other leader and deserves to be respected.   

"Disrespect to Gachagua is disrespect to the mountain, and vice versa. Those trying to bring bad blood between the president and his deputy, we are warning you," a fiery Mutahi added.

The governor is a confidant of DP Gachagua. Appearing to address Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei who had made remarks in the same meeting some minutes earlier, Mutahi said there is no need for lies, before saying the DP should be respected.   

Cherargei had said that everything was okay amid rumours of a fallout within the coalition. Mutahi's sentiments come amidst a rumoured fallout between Gachagua and Ruto, especially after the DP went silent and missed key state functions. 

Gachagua on Sunday made his first public appearance in over a week when he attended the church service in Endarasha, Nyeri County.