Nyeri residents rally behind Gachagua as impeachment motion tabled

Residents of Mathira constituency, home to Deputy Rigathi Gachagua, hold special prayers for the country outside Karatina market. [Amos Kiarie] 

Nyeri residents and leaders have come out to defend Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua after Members of Parliament tabled an impeachment motion against him.

The residents said that Gachagua played a big role in rallying Mt Kenya residents to vote for the Kenya Kwanza government.

Led by Nyeri Youth MCA Kariithi Wambui, they declared that if Gachagua is impeached, they will also move to oust President William Ruto, as the two leaders were elected together.

"Rigathi is one of us, he is a son of this land and he was instrumental in delivering this region to Kenya Kwanza, we will not sit back and watch as they try to remove him from office through these baseless impeachment proceedings," he said.

Wambui said that Gachagua has always fought for the interests of Mt Kenya residents even before he became Deputy President.

"These attempts to impeach him are nothing but a witch hunt by his political rivals and leaders who don’t want development in the region," he said.

Kirimukuyu MCA Muriithi Ndagita said the MPs should focus on addressing the issues affecting the country instead of planning to impeach the DP.

"We stand with Rigathi Gachagua, and we will defend him to the end. This is our son, and we will not allow anyone to remove him from office through dubious means," he said.

"Leaders should focus on delivering the promises made to Kenyans during the campaigns and not debate the impeachment motion against Gachagua,” he added.

"We should not have this push and pull that we are witnessing. As leaders, let's focus on delivering the promises  we made," Ndagita said.

In Karatina town, hundreds of residents from Mathira constituency, the home of the DP, gathered outside Karatina Market to hold special prayers for the country.

"We are gathered here today to pray for our nation and its leaders during this challenging time. We simply want peace and stability in our country. This impeachment talk is only serving to divide us further. We pray that our leaders will find a way to resolve their differences," said Magdaline Wanjiku, a trader.

The residents vowed to hold demonstrations and rallies in support of Gachagua if the impeachment process continues.

"These are just schemes by our political rivals to distract the deputy president from serving the people. We will not allow them to remove our leader through undemocratic means," she said.

James Mwangi, a bodaboda rider urged the president and his deputy to resolve their differences.

"We are shocked to hear that some of our leaders want to impeach Gachagua. He and the president were here in Nyeri, telling us how they will work together to improve the country's economy. They should focus on making sure that happens," he said.