DP Gachagua lectures Raila over tirade on US envoy Meg Whitman
National
By
Sharon Wanga
| Aug 18, 2023
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has urged US Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman to ignore the ongoing vilification by the Opposition.
Speaking on August 18 during the third and last day of the Devolution Conference in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu, the DP said that the ongoing onslaught is a result of opposition leaders' refusal to accept the losing the 2022 polls.
"It is a result of people being allergic to the truth and reality. She is being attacked and vilified for saying what everybody knows. I want to request leaders to accept the truth and move on, life is not static, it is dynamic," said Gachagua.
On Thursday while making remarks at the conference, Odinga criticised the US envoy over her views on Kenya's 2022 General Elections.
"Kenya is not a colony of the US. Keep your mouth shut, otherwise, we will call for your recall back to your country," Odinga said.
The ambassador in her previous remarks had praised Kenyans for holding peaceful and credible elections.
In her defense, Gachagua said that the ambassador stated facts because she was among the delegates who were present at the National tallying center at Bomas of Kenya.
The DP averred that Whitman deserves praise for the good bilateral relations she has created between Kenya and the US.
"What she deserves is commendation, not vilification for being truthful. I want to urge Amb Meg to ignore the noise and acclimatize to the Kenyan way of doing things. She should stay focused and go on with her work," he added.
The DP further said that leaders should show respect to development partners. "As a private citizen, how would you recall an ambassador? You can't even transfer an assistant chief to your local sub-location," the DP posed.
He said that the gesture by Odinga to recall the envoy was part of the denial that the opposition has lived with since the polls.
Gachagua has also called on the opposition to stick to its oversight role and allow the president to work on developing the country.