Nairobi — Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has welcomed to the government side Mt. Kenya leaders disgruntled in opposition.

This follows claims made by leaders such as Peter Munya, Justin Muturi, and Lenny that DCP party leader Rigathi Gachagua is demeaning them in their opposition politics.

The Deputy President also intensified his political campaign in the Mt. Kenya region, calling on residents to continue supporting the Kenya Kwanza administration and ignore those calling them to join the opposition.

A rift emerged within the Mt Kenya opposition after Democratic Party leader Justin Muturi, PNU's Peter Munya and DEP's Lenny Kivuti rejected former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua's call to dissolve their parties and fold into the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP).

In a joint statement issued Tuesday, the leaders said Gachagua had neither the legal nor moral authority to determine the future of other political parties, describing his remarks as offensive to party members, delegates and officials who had invested in building their respective political formations.

The statement follows remarks attributed to Gachagua at a church event in Meru on July 26, where he urged the Democratic Party, PNU, Umoja na Maendeleo Party and BUS Party (DEP) to dissolve and join DCP.