Rugene Is Right, DP Gachagua Never Issued Ultimatums On Elected Leaders From Mountain
The Mt Kenya Times 
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua
By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Worth Noting:
- Reacting to the latest attacks on his boss, the Director of Communication in the Office of Deputy President Njeri Rugene stated that the DP had not issued ultimatums to elected from the Mountain. He had only advised to listen to the ground.
- It is worth to recall in the run-up to 2022 polls, Kirinyaga Governor Ann Waiguru, who is now perceived to be a fierce critic of DP Gachagua, had made similar sentiments. I have listened to the ground. People of Kirinyaga have told me to join Dr William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA), she declared when she ditched President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee party.
A section of the elected leaders from Mount Kenya region have renewed their onslaught against the Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
This comes just two weeks after President William Ruto toured the region during which he called on local leaders to stop attacking the DP.
You were elected to serve the electorate. Stick to that lane. If you fail to perform, you will face their wrath.
The widely held view in the Mount Kenya is that the anti-Gachagua brigade is comprised of President Ruto’s loyalists.
This brings to fore the questions. Did their actions amount to defying their boss?
All the eyes are now trained on the President. Many are waiting to see whether he will call out their names and reprimand them.
Reacting to the latest attacks on his boss, the Director of Communication in the Office of Deputy President Njeri Rugene stated that the DP had not issued ultimatums to elected from the Mountain. He had only advised to listen to the ground.
It is worth to recall in the run-up to 2022 polls, Kirinyaga Governor Ann Waiguru, who is now perceived to be a fierce critic of DP Gachagua, had made similar sentiments. I have listened to the ground. People of Kirinyaga have told me to join Dr William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA), she declared when she ditched President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee party.
A few days earlier I had an opportunity to follow the proceedings of town hall meeting organized by President William Ruto. In attendance were University student leaders.
After shedding more light on the new University funding model, the President invited the students to present their views. You should be candid and open enough. If you don’t agree with the model let me know why and give solution. There will be no consequences.
One of the student told him. The model is not good. It does not address the financial challenges that students from poor families face.
Your Excellency the President, this problem emanates from fact there was no public participation.
The student added in apparent reference to DP, I like this leader. This is because he listens to the ground and acts in accordance with the wishes of the people.
In answering this question, the President avoided echoing his sentiments in praise of DP.
Instead Dr Ruto stated that he had invited and hosted Vice Chancellors of Universities for three meetings during which they supported the funding model.
Can the Vice Chancellors really faults the President? If they do this, they risk losing their jobs. This is fate that befell Professor Kiama of UoN, a number of student leaders later stated.
The latest attacks on Gachagua comes days after a friend of mine told me that he does not believe in the rumors doing round that President William Ruto has abandoned his Deputy Rigathi Gachagua.
We all know that Gachagua was the team leader of Mount Kenya political machinery that catapulted Dr William Ruto, then Kenya Kwanza presidential candidate, to the seat of power.
Besides being ready to pay the ultimate price and commiting all his energy and time to this course, the second-in-command bankrolled Ruto’s from his own pocket.
My friend added: If the rumors turn out to be true, this would be a betrayal of the highest order. He however exonerated President from having originated and hatched this plot (if it is real) and instead pointed an accusing at his “kitchen cabinet”.
In the recent past, we have been hearing the DP complaining that some of the key confidantes and allies of the head of state were belittling and disrespecting him.
President Ruto is not coming out strongly to reprimand them.
So, in the event that the threat to oust Gachagua is actualized, it will be hard for the President to convince the people of the Mountain that he did not have a hand.
It is worth noting my friend spoke with me on a day that President Ruto was attending the homecoming and thanksgiving ceremony for new cabinet secretary for Cooperatives and small business enterprises Wycliffe Oparanya in Kakamega.
In his speech, Dr Ruto hinted at the possibility of a merger of UDA and ODM parties to form a formidable political vehicle for 2027 general election.
Tellingly, DP Gachagua was conspicuously absent.
A few days earlier I had written an article in this column and these were my observations. 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.
Initially and in a move that demonstrated he was a true democrat, Dr Ruto did not interfere with this exercise.
He wanted them to freely choose and give him the name of the candidate.
He only intervened after they failed to agree.
President Ruto 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 hear 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.
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 taking on 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 have fallen out with him, majority of the people in the mountain are asking. How soon and why?
Reports indicated the plot to impeach had been hatched by a section of members of parliament from Rift Valley. The critics of Gachagua from Mount Kenya region were backing them.
In my view, it is 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 have since 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.
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.
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 abuse of office and 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.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political analyst based in Nairobi
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