By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Worth Noting:
- Going by the latest media reports that President Ruto and his deputy have fallen out, majority of the people in the mountain are asking. How soon and why?
- The latest media reports have indicated that a section of members of parliament from Rift Valley have hatched a plot to impeach Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. The critics of DP from Mount Kenya region were also behind this plot.
- Whenever I read these stories, two questions would come to my mind. Were they enjoying the blessing of the President? Did they stand a chance of having their way?
- In my view, it was hard to impeach DP Gachagua because of changing political dynamics.
In the run-up to 2022 General Election, the political opinions of the allies and confidantes of President William Ruto then Kenya Kwanza presidential candidate drawn from Mount Kenya region were divided on who should become his running mate.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki were the front-runners.
In a move that demonstrated he was a true democrat, Dr Ruto did not want to interfere with this exercise.
He wanted these leaders to freely discuss this matter, reach a consensus and give him the name of the candidate.
But when they failed to agree, he was left with only one option. To do a soul searching and pick the candidate himself.
He settled on Gachagua, a move that drew admiration from majority of people in Mount Kenya.
Apart from being courageous and having deep pocket, Gachagua’s prowess in communicating in local dialect was immeasurable.
Whenever he hosted Dr Ruto in the Mountain during the campaigns, he always electrified the crowds.
I’m here with William Ruto. You said this is man that you want to succeed the outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta. Isn’t it?
While referring Uhuru’s remarks that he would run the country for 10 years and then pass the baton to Ruto to do his 10 years, he would tell Dr Ruto.
We the people of Mountain what we hate is betrayal. We are truthful people and we are going to keep our word. We will vote for you to the last man and woman.
Given this background, I disagree with Gachagua’s critics.
In my considered view, the DP played a key role in ensuring President Ruto won the 2022 polls.
The argument that the kikuyus had already decided they will vote for Ruto with or without one of their own being a running mate does not hold any water.
I highly doubt this could have happened. Majority of Kikuyus wanted to see one of their own being at the top.
Gachagua never feared or shied away from facing the outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta head-on.
I’m ready to pay ultimate price while pushing Dr Ruto’s agenda.
Going by the latest media reports that President Ruto and his deputy have fallen out, majority of the people in the mountain are asking. How soon and why?
The latest media reports have indicated that a section of members of parliament from Rift Valley have hatched a plot to impeach Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. The critics of DP from Mount Kenya region were also behind this plot.
Whenever I read these stories, two questions would come to my mind. Were they enjoying the blessing of the President? Did they stand a chance of having their way?
In my view, it was hard to impeach DP Gachagua because of changing political dynamics.
DP Gachagua’s strategy of mending fences with opposition leaders was already bearing fruits.
ODM leader Raila Odinga had already thrown his full weight behind DP’s push for one-man, one-vote, one-shilling.
Reliable reports also indicate he had made tremendous progress in reaching out former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
He had also reached out to Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka.
The duo’s remarks and body language during the consecration of Bishop Benson Kamau (Kiengei) would attest to this.
This means the anti-Gachagua motion was bound to receive a strong opposition from members of the three parties-Jubilee, Wiper and ODM.
It is also worth noting that the DP had managed to change the narrative of Mount Kenya region.
One of the reasons is because he has up to date maintained his position that he is a truthful man. As such, his popularity in the Mountain is going up.
Given this scenario, you would expect the MPs from the Mountain to shoot down the motion.
Besides, if it turns out the
President supported the motion, many members were bound to interpret this as a big betrayal.
Apart from leading his campaign, the DP bankrolled his campaigns. Why abandon him so soon? This demonstrates no one is safe in Ruto’s government.
I had earlier watched and listened to how President William Ruto responded to the questions posed by top editors of three mainstream media houses during a live interview at State House Nairobi.
One of them touched on his relationship with his deputy Rigathi Gachagua.
Joe Ageyo of Nation Media Group (NMG) wanted to know whether they were really reading from same script.
Ageyo referred him to a statement that the Deputy President had released while in Mombasa. Mr President, a few minutes earlier you had addressed a televised press conference at State House Nairobi.
Both of you focussed on the same subject matter of Generation-Z protests.
While roundly condemning the police for using excessive force against the protesters resulting to snuffing out of the lives of innocent youths, the DP observed. These are our children and had not broken any law.
During the interview President Ruto avoided responding to the question and told Ageyo.
l’m not aware of this story of fallout between me and my deputy.
He is my deputy. He is not here and he is the one supposed to respond to that question.
I cannot speak for him. You are free to look for him and engage him if there is something else you want to know.
President Ruto’s interview came at a time when Weekly Citizen newspaper had featured a screaming headline: Gachagua was being blocked from accessing State House.
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.
There is also 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. The DP has never committed or linked to such gross misconduct.
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.
You can ignore Riggy-G at your own peril.
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.
Kiambu senator’s point was therefore clear. The DP was a force to reckon with. He helped the President to get those votes.
So, If the President opts to ignore him he was bound to lose this critical support base.
We recall that President Ruto made a raft of promises to the voters in this region during campaign.
The position of the DP is that most of these promises have not been fulfilled.
As a community, what we hate is betrayal, he was once quoted as saying.
I’m therefore sure the issue of unfulfilled promises would feature prominently if President agree to engage him in a formal and structured manner.
Besides the DP would demand to be respected and recognized as the senior most leader in the Mountain.
Some days earlier, the President had attended a church service in Nyahururu. He reiterated: “I have listened to what the young people are saying. These are our children and we have to listen to them. I’m going to engage them and I want to assure them of my commitment to address the concerns they had raised”
He spoke as Generation Z piled pressure on members of parliament (MPs) to reject the Finance Bill 2024.
They have also listed a raft of demands that they want President Ruto to address.
The youths who had turned up to oppose the Finance Bill 2024 were aged between 18-34 years.
The church service in Nyahururu was presided by ACK archbishop who was quoted in a post on social media as saying that his son was taking part in these protests.
A renowned political analyst had alleged the protests were being sponsored by a foreign power. He did name this power and what it intended to achieve.
This is not the first time we are witnessing this. Similar protests had rocked the country during the tenures of former Presidents Daniel Arap Moi, Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political analyst based in Nairobi
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