DP Gachagua Never Ruled Out A Motion Of Impeachment Being Filed Against Him
The Mt Kenya Times 
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua
By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Worth Noting:
- He escalated this matter when he disclosed. A senior staff member in my office had been targeted for elimination.
- Luckily, he survived. He said the officers from Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and National Intelligence Service (NIS) were not treating this matter with seriousness it deserved.
- 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.
A few days ago, I listened to Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s remarks during a live interview with Mount Kenya vernacular stations.
Regarding his relationship with his boss, President William Ruto, he insisted that it remained cordial and intact.
He however pointed an accusing finger at unnamed State House based official. This person was so powerful. He was intimidating and selling fear to even members of parliament.
Many interpreted this to mean taking on his boss.
As such, his assertions that his working chemistry with the President was cordial did not come from the bottom of his heart.
He escalated this matter when he disclosed. A senior staff member in my office had been targeted for elimination.
Luckily, he survived. He said the officers from Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and National Intelligence Service (NIS) were not treating this matter with seriousness it deserved.
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.
A few days earlier I had written an 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.
As a principal assistant to the President, he has been stating. My job is to help the President implement what he promised Kenyans during campaigns. Our was a joint ticket. So, if I don’t do this, I will also be blamed.
But putting this aside, there was a time the DP trained his gun on key allies of the President. I want to remind these junior officers that I’m not their equal. I’m directly answerable to the President, not them.
A few days ago, the DP was in Gatanga in Muranga county. He 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 spoke in Gatanga at a time when media reports indicated that a plot had been hatched to impeach him.
This comes in the wake of the 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, who spoke soon after President William Ruto addressed the nation at State House Nairobi, stated that he was privy to the information that some state operatives were out to make false claims that former President Uhuru Kenyatta and himself were sponsoring the protests.
The DP directed his anger at director of National Intelligence Service (NIS) Nordin Haji. The NIS boss had totally failed in his mandate of relying genuine and authenticated intelligence report to the President. If he had done his job, the bloodshed 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.
While fondly referring Gachagua as Riggy-G, the senator further noted that Generation-Z and Riggy-G share one thing in common “letter G’.
You can therefore 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.
To me, Karungo’s sentiments which were echoed by all the speakers including area MP Mary Wa maua, were weighty.
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. He has not lost that popularity.
So, If the President opts to ignore him he was bound to lose this critical support base. The DP steered clear of this debate.
He had however earlier stated. As a community what we hate is betrayal.
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.
While attending a church service in Nyahururu town, the President 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. The President heeded the call when he declined to sign the bill into law.
The youths who had turned up to oppose the Finance Bill 2024 were aged between 18-34 years. They had listed other demands.
The church service in Nyahururu was presided by ACK archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit who was quoted in a post on social media as saying that his son was also taking part in these protests.
A renowned political analyst had averred the anti-tax 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. We had seen similar protests rocking the country during the reigns 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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