Hussein Mohamed speaks on 'Gachagua debate notes'

UDA deputy presidential candidate Rigathi Gachagua during the July 19, 2022 debate at CUEA in Nairobi. [Standard]

On Tuesday, Rigathi Gachagua of UDA came prepared with notes during the deputy presidential debate at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) in Nairobi.

He referred to the writings often, especially during his response on what constitutes “State capture” in Kenya.

Social media users likened his reference to the notes to how some university students sneak in illegal material into the exam room and later refer to them in search of answers.

Lawyer Donald Kipkorir said on Twitter: “Rigathi Gachagua came coached and with prepared notes (mwakenya)… He doesn’t speak from the heart.”

Other online users speculated that Gachagua could have received the debate questions in advance.

However, the questions are never shared with the candidates ahead of the session.

The presidential debate secretariat is on the record saying that no participant gets the debate questions upfront.

Hussein Mohamed, who is UDA’s presidential campaigns communications director, said Gachagua was not in possession of the questions ahead of the debate schedule.

On Monday, July 18 – one day to the debate – Gachagua visited the debate venue, CUEA, to witness preparations ahead of the exercise on Tuesday.

“Gachagua did not receive the debate questions upfront,” Hussein Mohamed said on Thursday, July 21 during a press conference at the UDA Command Center in Westlands, Nairobi.

“Gachagua is a brilliant person, who needs no coaching to answer [leadership-related] questions. He’s a good debater,” said Mohamed.

A source close to Rigathi Gachagua and UDA, however, told The Standard in confidence on Wednesday that they prepared Gachagua to answer the moderators’ questions a certain way.

“We were in the journalism field before venturing into other things, including politics. The moderators are people we worked with. We’d mastered how they ask questions, their personalities and the types of questions they like to pose. A day to Tuesday, we sat down with Gachagua and brainstormed on the appropriate responses should he face certain questions,” said the UDA insider.

Observers said Gachagua surprised many with his swiftly thought-out responses, indicating how he was well-prepared for the debate.

Many online users, if a majority of tweets are anything to go by, speculated that Martha Karua would outshine Gachagua during the debate, that was moderated by KTN News’ Sophia Wanuna and NTV’s James Smart.

In the debate, Gachagua said should he and DP William Ruto win the presidential election on August 9, they’ll prioritise health reforms, fighting democracy capture and uplifting low-income earners.

Karua, on the other hand, said should she and Raila Odinga emerge victorious in the August 9 polls, they will deal decisively with graft and roll out a Sh6,000 monthly social protection programme to cushion vulnerable families.