Gachagua’s Call On Ex-Mungiki Leader To Denounce Violence Was Wise, Timely
The Mt Kenya Times 
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Ex-Mungiki Leader Maina Njenga
By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Worth Noting:
- I have no problem with him. That chapter is now closed. Kenyans made their choices when they elected Dr William Ruto as the President and myself as the deputy President.
- The DP would further assert. We have some young leaders with great and wonderful potential to steer this region to the greater heights of prosperity and success.
- As the senior most leaders, I look forward to grooming and preparing them.
- At a function in Meru, he said. I can see our good and gracious daughter is also here with us. This was in apparent reference to former Murang’a woman representative Sabina Chege.
- The DP also cited Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro. Since then, he has also been enjoying cordial relations with the Kenya Kwanza brigade in the Mountain.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has been in forefront of rallying leaders of the Mount Kenya region to come together and speak in one voice.
As leaders, we have a duty to unite our people behind a course that is designed to better and improve their livelihoods.
To achieve this, we must listen to them and document all the challenges they faced.
This will help us to come up with tangible solutions.
I recall a statement the DP made in the run up to the election of the members of East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA).
He stated that the time of politics is over. This is the time to work for our people and all Kenyans.
So it does not matter whether you are a member of the ruling Kenya Kwanza party or the opposition Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition.
Consequently, he successfully rallied the MPs from the Mount Kenya to back the candidature of former Kieni MP Kanini Kega.
During the campaigns Kanini was a staunch diehard of Azimio leader Raila Odinga.
You remember that Kanini used to insult me and attack me right, left and center.
I have no problem with him. That chapter is now closed. Kenyans made their choices when they elected Dr William Ruto as the President and myself as the deputy President.
The DP would further assert. We have some young leaders with great and wonderful potential to steer this region to the greater heights of prosperity and success.
As the senior most leaders, I look forward to grooming and preparing them.
At a function in Meru, he said. I can see our good and gracious daughter is also here with us. This was in apparent reference to former Murang’a woman representative Sabina Chege.
The DP also cited Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro. Since then, he has also been enjoying cordial relations with the Kenya Kwanza brigade in the Mountain.
He has remained focused and consistent. I heard him recently hitting out at those alleging that he had fallen out with Trade, Investment and Industry Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria.
There is no iota of truth. These stories are cooked and being peddled around by personalities who were over years been opposed to the unity of our region.
This is what I want to tell them. The mountain is united behind President William Ruto.
We all woke up and gave President William Ruto our votes. We were not coerced. We did this willingly.
As the leader of this region, I have heard you decrying the high cost of living. I want to assure you that President William Ruto is not sleeping. He is working day and night to tackle and surmount these challenges.
However, I humbly want you to bear this in mind. The pinch you are feeling is being felt globally.
Kenya has no control over the prices of fuels. The pump prices are being determined by the international market.
The cost has lately shot up because of two main factors. One, the move by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to increase the cost of production.
Two, the ongoing Russian-Ukraine war.
Russia is known to be one of the leading oil producers and marketers. The sanctions imposed by Western powers have crippled their exports.
As Gachagua rallies the Mountain, one thing is clear. As the second in command, he fully understands his constitutional mandate.
So far he has done very well in helping President Ruto to undertake and realize his national duties and goals.
Well, the DP’s critics had been trying to portray him as a tribalist. To me, this would amount to playing cheap and malicious politics.
They would not complain when the leaders of their communities hold similar caucuses.
Recently, the DP attended the burial of the freedom fighter, field marshal Ms Muthoni Kirima.
Ex-Mungiki Maina Njenga was also present and he rallied behind DP’s call for the unity of the Mountain.
Hon Gachagua, you are the senior most leaders in our region. I urge you to convene a meeting for all leaders from the mountain so that as a community we can chart our way forward.
But in his swift response, the DP stated it was too early to contemplate sitting down with him.
We know he is the face of violence in this country. I ask him to renounce it first. We want to see his true commitment to the course of peace and unity of our people.
The DP reaction was well understood.
During the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition led demonstrations, the Ex-Mungiki Leader had been identified as a key player. This is in terms of mobilizing hundreds of thousands of youths to participate in the demos.
Most of them were armed with machetes and other crude weapons.
Some media reports indicated that some were in possession of guns. The goons were associated with looting, destruction of properties and bloody confrontations that were witnessed.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political analyst based in Nairobi
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