Deputy Prezzo Rigathi Gachagua aka Riggy was missing in action for most of last week and I was thinking about the kind of public notice that would be effective in describing the man to the world.
He said he had been deep in the heart of Mt Kenya praying and fasting, as well as meditating and reflecting about the state of the nation.
Riggy G, a self-declared “son of Mau Mau” did not disclose if his choice of Mt Kenya was inspired by the liberation fighters’ exploits, who hid in the same mount for nine years. Or if his choice was more practical, given he has a home close by.
Neither was it clear if he stayed in the forest at night as well, surviving on no more than the clothes on his back. As for meals, when someone says they’re fasting, then they are not eating at all. From afar, it’s hard to tell if Riggy G’s body weight benefited from his week-long withdrawal from food.
But there was no doubt that the retreat has rejuvenated Riggy G’s perception of things, for it yielded crisp-clear revelations.
“Our people are very intelligent,” he said, in reference to central Kenya. “Anybody who underrates the intelligence of the mountain people will be sorry because he’ll be in shock.”
It’s not clear if this conclusion of intelligent folks inhabiting the mount was the product of musings from a solitary mind, or if he encountered these brilliant minds in his forest forays.
All Riggy G kept repeating was the marvel of those folks. “These are people who are bright, they are intelligent and they have their pride.”
Riggy G also had a moment of self-reflection: “I’m not very clever, but I’m not stupid.” I’m inclined to concur with his assessment, though I don’t think he needed a week of meditation to discover that.
Hopefully, he’s planning on more retreats, not just to enhance his self-awareness, but also because peace descends on our land when he’s gone.
