Did Uhuru Call Raila And Ask Him To Talk With Ruto?

By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga 

Worth Noting:

• If Uhuru had asked him to talk with President Ruto, where does this leave Gachagua? I don’t think there was any love lost between the DP and Uhuru. Gachagua had been reiterating he has no problem with President Ruto. As a principal assistant, my job is to help the president fulfills the pledges he made to Kenyans.
• A few days earlier, I had written an article in this column. These were my observations. The enemy of kikuyu is kikuyu and the events of the recent past once again attest to this.
• Though it had started as rumors, many Kenyans later believed the talk of impeaching the deputy president Rigathi Gachagua was real.
• Shockingly, the plot had been hatched by elected MPs from Gachagua’s backyard of Mount Kenya region.

A few days ago, Orange Democratic Party (ODM) made some remarks that caught many by surprise.

He said that former President Uhuru Kenyatta called him at the height of Gen-Z protests and asked him to talk with President William Ruto.

We do not want to see our country sliding into anarchy and political mayhem. We have no other country, Uhuru Kenyatta reportedly told him. Uhuru has not yet  responded in person or through his spokesperson Kanze Dena.

Raila remarks came just a few days after President Ruto reconstituted his cabinet.

Six of Raila’s close allies in ODM were co-opted and are now in charge of key dockets, including National Treasury, Energy and Mining and Blue Economy.

Though the ODM top guns had already resigned from their respective party positions, the decision to include them in government was still generating varied reactions.

For Raila, ODM had not joined the government. The names of five experts “I  forwarded to President Ruto left the party on their own volition as individuals”. In his ongoing development tours across the country, President Ruto has been  echoing his sentiments.

As UDA, we have not signed an agreement with ODM. The latter is still an opposition party.

Raila also spoke at a time when Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua repeatedly stated he had reconciled with former President Uhuru Kenyatta and former First Lady Mama Ngina Ngina.

During an interview with Mount Kenya Vernacular TV and radio stations, he reiterated. The two have forgiven me. I have been talking with Uhuru Kenyatta and he fully support my agenda of uniting the Mount Kenya.

Uhuru is still holding the baton of the king of Mountain and I’m the political leader.

With this, timing  of Raila’s remarks was bound to raise queries.

If Uhuru had asked him to talk with President Ruto, where does this leave Gachagua? I don’t think there was any love lost between the DP and Uhuru. Gachagua had been reiterating he has no problem with President Ruto. As a principal assistant, my job is to help the president fulfills the pledges he made to Kenyans.

A few days earlier, I had written an article in this column. These were my observations. The enemy of kikuyu is kikuyu and the events of the recent past once again attest to this.

Though it had started as rumors, many Kenyans later believed the talk of  impeaching the deputy president Rigathi Gachagua was real.

Shockingly, the plot had been hatched by elected MPs from Gachagua’s backyard of Mount Kenya region.

While working at the behest of the outsiders the MPs were out to bring down one of their own.

The ouster bid was publicly informed by sheer envy, hatred and raw political ambitions.

For me, I knew the coup plotters were on their own. They were not enjoying the support of the electorate.

Therefore, it was only a matter of time before they chickened out.

This came to pass during President William Ruto’s three-day tour of the region.

The President did not mince any word in urging the local leaders to tone down on political rhetoric and instead  focus on fulfilling the pre-election promises.

Each one of you have a destiny with the voters. If you don’t deliver, they will  show you the door come 2027.

A story published by one of the mainstream media had earlier created the impression that the members of parliament from the Mountain  plotting to impeach the DP enjoyed the blessings of the president.

I knew President William Ruto was a wise man and a well schooled politician.

So, I would not have expected him to support the ouster bid  without first listening to the  voice of the Mountain.

During this tour, he realized that majority of the local people were behind Gachagua.

Besides receiving a thunderous applause whenever he invited him to address the crowds in Embu, Muranga and Kirinyaga counties, President Ruto was reported to have received a similar message from 43 local MPs whom he had hosted at State House Nairobi. For some of the MPs, this was U-turn. The change of heart was a political survival strategy.

Kikuyu MP and Majority leader Kimani Ichungwah and MP Mwangi Kiunjuri and his Mathira counterpart Eric Wamumbi were conspicuously absent. The three were known to be fierce critics of DP Gachagua.

It is true the DP was missing from President’s meeting with the MPs. But attempts by DP’s critics to politicize his absence backfired immediately.

It emerged that the local MPs had requested the President not to invite the DP. This is because one of the agenda items touched on  DP’s latest conduct particularly his  utterances and body language during his forays in the  Mountain.

The MPs wanted to discuss this matter freely.

Media reports indicated President Ruto had communicated this to DP.  He had no problem and had given him a go ahead.

In his response after the meeting, the President is reported to have told the MPs. I concurs with you and one of the reasons is because the grounds cited do not meet the requisite threshold for impeachment of DP.

Regarding his relationship with his boss, President William Ruto, the DP insisted  during the interview that it remains cordial and intact.

He however pointed an accusing finger at some  unnamed State House based officials. One of these persons was so powerful. He was  intimidating and selling fear to even members of parliament.

Responding to reports swirling around that his critics have hatched a plot to impeach him, he stated. I’m not aware of this plot. I’m reading this in the media the same way you are doing.

I have heard those who want me to go home are members of parliament. I want to tell them that they did not elect me. President Ruto and I won  2022 polls on a  joint ticket.

So I was elected by people of Kenya.

Given this scenario, I would expect  members of parliament who want to send me home to first ask Kenyans whether they support the move.

But politics being what it is, I’m not ruling out the possibility of this motion being filed.

But I would expect  justice and fairness to prevail in this process. If I’m impeached,  I will go home with my head held high.

In an earlier article in this column, I focussed on  how President William Ruto responded during a live interview to the question of whether he had fallen out with his deputy. I’m not aware of any political differences with my deputy. The truth of matter is that he is my deputy.  If you don’t trust me, go and look for him. I cannot speak for him.

The DP had been reading a similar script.  He had never openly picked a war with his boss.

During a visit in Gatanga  Muranga county, DP had  minced no word in warning elected leaders from Mount Kenya region that their days were numbered.

If they fail listen to the ground, they will lose their seats come the next general election in 2027.

As expected, his critics interpreted his remarks to mean taking on his boss, President William Ruto.

I disagree! The truth of the matter is that if election are called today the region will not vote as a bloc for President Ruto as it happened in 2022 polls. If it turns out this is the message he was passing to the President, I would not expect the head of state to feel offended.

Dr President Ruto is a well-schooled politician.

The ground in Mount Kenya region is mainly shifting because a quite number of development projects that the two leaders had made to the residents during the campaigns were yet to be rolled out.

By virtue of  being senior most politician in the region, the residents considered Gachagua as their savior.

He may have  some weaknesses but this is normal with all politicians. No one is 100 percent perfect.

For residents,  the enemies of the Mountain had regrouped and were out to split the region. We will not allow them to have their way.

We will firmly stand behind Gachagua because he is a unifying factor.

The DP’s speech in Gatanga came hot on the heels  of  recent protests organized and led by Generation-Z.

One of the grounds cited by plotters is Gachagua’s alleged role in sponsoring these demonstrations.

It is not therefore lost that the campaign took a new height on the day that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) detectives grilled and recorded statements from three of his top allies.

It remains to be seen whether the information extracted carried any weight that could be used to pin down DP.

In political circles, the diehard supporters of  DP have been dismissing the claims, stating the DP was being targeted for political reasons.

At the height of Gen-Z protests, I had an opportunity to listen to Gachagua’s remarks when he addressed the press in Mombasa.

The DP stated that he was privy to the information that some state operatives were out to make false claims that former President Uhuru Kenyatta and I were sponsoring the protests.

The DP directed his anger at the top leadership of  National Intelligence Service (NIS). If they had relayed correct briefings to  the President, the bloodshed   we have witnessed could have been avoided.

While roundly  condemning the police for using excessive force against the protesters resulting to snuffing out of the lives of innocent youths, the DP echoed the words of the President. These are our children and had not broken any law.

The constitution provides that the motion to impeach a sitting DP can only sail through if it garners two-third majority or above in parliament.

Well, for now,   some people argue the motion can sail through. This is because President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga have buried their differences and are working together.

But there is the issue of whether the grounds cited by his accusers meets the requisite threshold of law.

The motion of the impeachment can only be allowed if the mover manages to convince the house that the actions of DP amount to gross violation of the constitution and the international treaties.

I heard earlier listened to the remarks by Kiambu Senator Karungo Wa Thangwa. He seemed to confirm that President William Ruto and his deputy Rigathi Gachagua were not reading the same script.

We the people of the Mountain are asking President William Ruto to engage DP Gachagua in dialogue the same way he is engaging Generation-Z and millennials.

The senator, who spoke in presence of the Deputy President in Maragwa, stated. We have heard that the President has initiated a process of reaching out to the young people.

This is after they took to the streets to register their strong reservations with the way the country is being governed.

We want the President to use the same template to engage the DP.

He added: DP Gachagua is our kingpin in the Mountain. I’m therefore answerable to him. So this is what I want to tell the President. You cannot reach me without going through him.

The DP was also accompanied by a host of elected leaders from this region.

As we know, the people of Mount Kenya region voted for President Ruto to the last man and woman during 2022 polls. He garnered 87 percent and these are the votes that catapulted him to the seat of president.

Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political analyst based in Nairobi

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