Gachagua faces political isolation as leaders question his loyalty

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua acknowledges greetings from residents of Engineer Town in Kinangop, Nyandarua County, after attending Holy Mass at St Stephen Catholic Parish, Karoroha, Nyandarua County on July 28, 2024. [DPCS] Even after it was reported that President William Ruto had stepped in to end the dark cloud of a planned impeachment motion that hovered over Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, doubts still abound over his ability to marshal the Mt Kenya leadership to his defense. A cross-section of leaders from the region are of the view that Gachagua has since the ascension to office antagonised many leaders and influential personalities from the region with his abrasive and arrogant personality. The leaders told The Standard that Gachagua pursued a campaign of hate and personal vendetta targeting businesses and commercial ventures owned by prominent personalities from the Kikuyu community. They argue that he was being branded as a traitor by a section of the Kikuyu community one who cannot be trusted. They say it was just a matter of time before he came tumbling down. Last Sunday, Gachagua, in an interview on vernacular Radio and TV stations in Mt Kenya region, poured his frustrations about people who, he said, enjoyed close proximity with President William Ruto. The DP said he had learnt that the group was plotting to hound him out of the office through an impeachment motion due to what he termed his relentless campaign to lobby for the interests of the community. Former Nakuru Town MP David Manyara is of the opinion that the DP was used "by some dark forces within the Kenya Kwanza administration to sabotage the business interests of Mt Kenya people." "He demonised businesses that had taken decades to build, saying they were cartel ventures and instigated the cancellation of their licenses as was the case with coffee millers and marketers," claims Manyara. The former MP adds: "To be honest, Mr Gachagua has been perceived a traitor for allowing himself to be used to fight against other community leaders and destroy their businesses. Even the hustlers who supported him are now desperate as their economic fortunes continue to dwindle." Manyara says, "Those who used Mr Gachagua are well tutored in former President Daniel Arap Moi's strategy of use and dump. Now Mr Gachagua is realising too late that his stay in UDA is no longer tenable having accomplished his master's mission." He gives the example of the DP being used to fight former President Uhuru Kenyatta and other leading personalities in Mt Kenya region saying he (DP) should not expect to draw the same people to his side to fight his battles. "Political traitors face similar consequences. The DP was warned against his political moves but he was blinded by his greed for power and vendetta against Mr Kenyatta. Now he is headed to political oblivion," Manyara says Manyara says former vice president Dr Josephat Karanja and Professor George Saitoti who served under President Moi found themselves in a similar predicament as Gachagua after they were used to fight former President Mwai Kibaki and former Minister Kenneth Matiba. Kibaki served as the vice-president while Matiba served as cabinet minister. They later resigned from the government and joined opposition politics. Kibaki was dropped from the VP post and replaced with Dr Karanja who was later replaced with Professor Saitoti. Former Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri defends DP Rigathi Gachagua, saying he is still a key player in Mt Kenya politics. Ngunjiri who has in the recent past been the fiercest defender of Gachagua adds that although there were concerns that the DP could have rubbed some people the wrong way, he has already sought for forgiveness. "It is important for senior leaders in Mt Kenya region to rebrand themselves in order to overcome the issue of trust deficit to regain the confidence of residents." He says. He added, "Nobody is perfect and to err is human. We need to accept the apology tendered by the DP to Uhuru Kenyatta and move forward." He said Mt Kenya faces a bleak political future unless leaders are willing to put aside their grudges and political differences and embrace each other. He added that other regions were consolidating their voting blocks in readiness for the 2027 elections and Mt Kenya leaders had no option but to work together under the guidance of Uhuru and Gachagua. Another former MP from Mt Kenya region, Mwangi Gichuki who represented Ndaragwa Constituency is of the opinion that it is difficult for leaders from the region to rally behind Gachagua as he does not effectively represent the Kikuyu community's interests. "You only hear Gachagua complaining about such trivial things as being denied a helicopter or being disrespected by some civil servants but you will not hear his voice when businesses are being ravaged by the punitive tax regime imposed by the Kenya Kwanza administration," Gichuki says. He recalls that during the Kanu regime, a former Kamukunji MP, the late Maina Wanjigi cut short his trip abroad and returned to the country to express his solidarity with his constituents who were being brutally evicted from the Muoroto area by government officers. "The late Wanjigi lost his assistant minister's job for standing with his people who elected him to office. He opted to remain on the side of truth and justice instead of remaining in a hostile government," Gichuki recalls. He adds that both Kibaki and Matiba resigned their cabinet posts when they felt that their services were not being required and that the government had failed to champion the interests of the people they represented. "Even in Gachagua's backyard of Nyeri, residents are crying as coffee prices slumped following disruption of marketing structures, while small trading centres have become ghost centres following the closure of bars and other entertainment joints under the pretext of fighting illicit brews," he notes. This fight against illicit brews was haphazardly conducted, leading to the loss of jobs and revenue in the entertainment sector which also affected hawkers who sell samosa and boiled eggs in bars, Gichuki claims. Although a group of Mt Kenya MPs had settled on Professor Kithure Kindiki as President Ruto's running mate, their choice was declined and instead Gachagua was appointed to the position. "From the word go, Gachagua was not the choice of Mt Kenya region," says the former lawmaker. Former Molo MP Njenga Mungai who is the Jubilee Party's chairman of the council of elders says the DP had chosen his political path "and should be prepared to face the consequences in the UDA party." Mungai observes that a large section of Mt Kenya dwellers had no confidence in Gachagua's leadership as he had failed to adequately address the challenges facing the people. "We saw him misleading the people and inciting the public against Uhuru Kenyatta's administration and we expected that his team would perform marvellous. Now the economic situation has worsened, and what we are hearing from him is grumblings about petty issues that do not concern people in the grassroots region," says Mungai. Kabando wa Kabando, former Mukurwe-ini MP, however, challenges leaders in the Mt Kenya region to rise above ethnic-based politics and embrace the spirit of liberation espoused by the Gen Z and Millennials who have transcended tribal affiliations. Kabando says that the county needs a renewal in the way leaders think in order to effectively address the socioeconomic and political challenges facing the country. "Our leaders now should rise above ethnic bigotry and resonate with the demand of the moment. The Gen Z and Millennials are calling for genuine transformation of the country and not the usual games of musical chairs that has characterised our politics for long," said Kabando "The Gen Zs are not part of the corruption culture that has pervaded our political scene for long. The young people's cries are reminiscent of the pre-independence we had some individuals who were elected in regions where their ethnic communities were not dominant," Mr Kabando said. He added; "Achieng Oneko was elected in Nakuru where the Kikuyus were the majority while John Keen was elected in Kitale, where the votes of his Maasai community was insignificant. We also saw Tom Mboya being elected in Kamukunji area where the Kikuyus were predominant."Mr Kabando said that the country's leadership had failed to build a new Kenya as it focused its energies on building ethnic-based alliances at the expense of service delivery to Kenyans regardless of their ethnic background. "Balkanization of the country along ethnic lines undermines our desire for a prosperous country. We need to resonate with the spirit of such leading African leaders as Julius Nyerere and Kwama Nkuruma", Mr Kabando said. Mwangi Kariko, a former Nakuru Town Deputy Mayor who contested for the Nakuru Town West parliamentary seat on UDA party ticket challenges the current crop of leaders in Mt Kenya region to focus their attention on addressing the concerns of the residents.

Gachagua faces political isolation as leaders question his loyalty

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