- Nyeri Governor, Nderitu Gachagua died after two-year battle with cancer
- Mwai kibaki speech during the governor’s burial was highly controversial following his incoherence.
During the burial of the late Nyeri Governor, Nderitu Gachagua, former President Mwai Kibaki gave an incoherent speech that left many at Gachagu's Hiriga village, wondering whether the vagaries of age were taking their toll.
But a few weeks later Kibaki surprised his audience when was the guest of honour when his nephew, Ndiritu Muriithi, was launching his governor's bid at the Nyahururu Golf Club.
Kibaki was uncharacteristically articulate, coherent. People were left bewildered.
But for those who have known him at personal level, Kibaki's speech was deliberately intended to convey a message. He had a frosty relationship with the family of Gachagua and especially the deceased whom he held in contempt. So, he simply had nothing good to say about him.
The rivalry between the two began in the early 1990's when Kibaki walked out of the then ruling party, Kanu to form the Democratic Party (DP).
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Kenya had just turned multi-party and Kibaki was positioning himself to oust former President Daniel arap Moi from power using his new outfit. While trying to consolidate himself in his home district of Nyeri, he faced one big obstacle: the Gachagua brothers, Nderitu and Rigathi.
They had made hundreds of millions in the Kanu government, and to make matters worse, they were the political babies of the late, Davidson Kuguru – the man who had taunted Kibaki when he was Kenya's Vice President under Moi.
The late Kuguru was actually Moi's point man in Nyeri until his death in 1997.
The Gachagua brothers-Rigathi was an influential DO- were Kibaki's main detractors in Nyeri. They splashed their new found wealth in harambees, lauding Kanu and berating Kibaki.
Gachagua eventually managed to oust Matu Wamae, a close Kibaki political ally in 2002 elections when he clinched Narc ticket. And he had daringly joined DP before it merged with other parties to form Narc. Efforts to save Wamae were fruitless. Throughout his term in Parliament, Kibaki who was President unveiled open hatred for Gachagua.
