Gachagua to President: Mt Kenya people will send you home

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua at Tuskys Stage in Meru town where he started his three-day tour. [Courtesy] Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua started his three-day tour of Meru with a call to the voters to remain united, as any divisions might enable President William Ruto to retain his power. Mr Gachagua said he will vie for the presidency, but he and other opposition leaders will sit and present one of them to run against President William Ruto. He said he, alongside Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i, Martha Karua, Eugene Wamalwa, and any other potential candidates, will choose who among them is more suitable. "We will sit and produce one candidate to face Ruto," he said. He said he will ensure the Mount Kenya people will not repeat what he described as a mistake when they elected Ruto in 2022. "The Mt Kenya people made you (Ruto) president, but you have oppressed us. We are the ones who will send you home," he said. Mr Gachagua, who was accompanied by former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi and some of the potential Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) candidates, said the Gikuyu, Meru, and Embu people to rally behind him and DCP to make sure President Ruto does not win the 2027 poll. Gachagua said the reasons that led to his fallout with the head of state were the oppression of the Mt Kenya people in terms of development projects. "The Meru, Embu, and Gikuyu must remain united. I want us to stay united and not allow him to divide us," said the former Mathira MP, who, along with other leaders, momentarily panicked after a group of goons tried to invade their rally at Nkubu in South Imenti. "The Meru, Embu, and Gikuyu must stick together. His (Ruto's) plan is to divide us so that he can oppress us. The unity of Mt Kenya (people) lies in our unity behind one party (DCP) and one person," Gachagua added. He pointed to the delayed implementation of some of the election pledges he and Ruto made to the Meru as another reason he parted ways with the president. Gachagua, who also castigated Meru Senator and Deputy Senate Speaker Kathuri Murungi for their continued dalliance with Ruto, said when he presented the region's grievances, Ruto labeled him a tribalist. "When I agitated for the (development) rights of the Meru people, he called me a tribalist. What wrong did I do when what I wanted was for our people to get their rights?" he posed. He said all the Meru MPs and Senator Murungi should not be re-elected because they continued working with Ruto despite the marginalization of the region in terms of development. "The Meru MPs and senators will be the first to go home," he said. Mr Linturi said they were determined in their quest to ensure Ruto serves only one term.Linturi blamed the brief violent scenes at Nkubu and other areas on their political opponents in the ruling coalition. "We don't want state-sponsored violence. We have sacrificed ourselves to free this nation," said the former CS. Lawyer Mugambi Imanyara, who is eyeing the Senate, said the people were not accessing health care despite the introduction of the government's Social Health Authority. "They are deducting SHA, but there are no health workers, no medicines in hospitals," Mr Imanyara said.

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