Gachagua leaps to the presidency after only one term in Parliament

President-elect William Ruto with his deputy Rigathi Gachagua in Karen, Nairobi, on August 5, 2022. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

It is the first time in Kenya's history that a first-term MP moves a heartbeat away from the presidency. Deputy President-elect Rigathi Gachagua, 57, appears luckier than his 55-year-old boss.

President-elect William Ruto is the first to win the presidency on his first attempt in competitive contention.

Mr Gachagua politically lived in the shadow of his more famous elder brother Nderitu Gachagua, the quantity surveyor who in 2013 was elected first governor of Nyeri.

The late governor was in many ways a contradiction of the Deputy President-elect in matters of style and taste of fine things in life.

When he was in his last days, the younger Gachagua was sort of the unofficial overseer although he never joined the devolved government. That the incoming Deputy President was able to override the more famous brother in his five years in politics has surprised many.

Mr Gachagua was expected to go for the seat his brother had occupied.

It was as surprising a pick as the 1988 moment when late President Moi opted for Dr Josephat Karanja as his vice to replace the more popular Mwai Kibaki, who number two for was 10 years.

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Dr Karanja was in his second term in Parliament since replacing former city mayor Andrew Ngumba as Mathare MP after the latter run into exile to escape arrest following financial trouble at his Rural Urban Finance Building Society.

Mr Gachagua, who loves marketing himself as a son of Mau Mau freedom fighters, attributes the good fortunes to prayers and divine intervention. At his just over six-minute celebratory speech at his future official residence in Karen on Monday after the Supreme Court ruling, he recalled a church service he attended with Dr Ruto at Kenol in Murang'a an year ago.

"There, a Nigerian evangelist tried to explain to us why the outgoing president had abandoned Dr Ruto. He said it was all God's doing so that when he picks the mantle no man can say he made him king," he said.

He talked of logs-hurdles that had been put on their path "that could not be lifted by the hands of men."

Rigathi added that the problem was that of leadership that would be remedied by Dr Ruto.

He also used time to enumerate Kenya's problems; Sh10 trillion public debt, six million jobless youth, 14 million Kenyans blacklisted by Credit Reference Bureau, a demoralised public service, among others.

"Let nobody cheat you. We shall have to work from day one," is how Mr Gachagua aptly summed the challenge that he and his boss will be facing in the next five years.

One thing about the former Mathira MP that even his critics admit is his gut to take on his rivals.

Indeed, some UDA insiders confide that this was one, if not the prime reason, Dr Ruto picked him as running mate.

The explanation is that none of the other potential picks could have been counted on to take on President Uhuru Kenyatta especially once the retiring Head of State chose to back Raila Odinga as his successor.

"Having worked for Uhuru as political personal assistant, Gachagua knew the Kenyattas better than anyone else in Ruto corner. He also had the balls to take on the outgoing president," said the UDA insider.