Ruto turns up heat on Gachagua rivals, sends him to South Africa

President William Ruto shares a light moment with Kenya Kwanza MPs at State House, Nairobi. [PCS]

The much-anticipated taming of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua during the Kenya Kwanza parliamentary group meeting failed to materialise as his accusers found themselves holding the wrong end of the stick.

In what could be a game-changer in the soured relations between President William Ruto and his deputy, Ruto dispatched Gachagua yesterday to represent him in South Africa for the inauguration of re-elected President Cyril Ramaphosa.

This comes just days after Opposition chief Raila Odinga uncharacteristically represented the President during a service in honour of the late of Malawi Vice President Saulos Chilima, in Lilongwe, Malawi on Sunday.

Gachagua has been the butt of jokes in recent days over his political stand and incessant rumbling however going by Tuesday’s events he could have turned the tide. 

In yesterday’s meeting, some of his accusers faced a dress-down and were ordered to shelve their political ambitions and focus on service delivery. On Monday, Kenya Kwanza’s Chief Whip Silvanus Osoro said the DP would be reprimanded before the Head of State in the parliamentary group meeting over claims of tribalism.

 “We shall raise issues against Gachagua’s misconduct before the President who is our party leader so that he can reprimand his deputy,’’ Osoro had told Citizen TV.

According to Osoro, Gachagua has been undermining the position of the President by propagating the seclusion of one region from others while calling for the “one-man, one-vote, one-shilling” formula of sharing resources.

On Tuesday, the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) chairperson Cecile Mbarire fired at Majority Leader Kimani Ichungwa and Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro who she named, chiding them to stop their politics in Mt Kenya region as it was unhealthy and would compromise President Ruto’s re-election.

She reminded them that 2032 was very distant and that even women will be actively involved in succession politics.

“Let’s not lose sight of our goal. We promised Kenyans big things. The expectations out there are very high. If we start losing focus now, I don’t know how we’ll face Kenyans in 2027. 

“Let’s stay focused on what we promised hustlers. Because if we don’t deliver, hustlers will send us out of power. They will send us with vengeance.

“So let us talk about roads, electricity, education, health, and pipes. Let’s tone down on politics. It is not healthy. It is the wrong time,” Mbarire said.

She added “And I want to say this on a light note. 2032 is very far. For me, the most important thing is to make sure our team leader, William Ruto, gets a second term and he can only get a second term when he delivers and gets this country out of where it is right now.”

The President urged the leaders to stay united for the government to actualise the aspirations they made to Kenyans.

“The Head of State told us to concentrate on the agenda of implementing our promises to the electorate as that will transform their lives and to share our development track record with them,’’ Nyeri Town MP Duncan Mathenge told The Standard.on phone

According to the MP, the President said to win the people who did not vote for the Kenya Kwanza administration, the leaders needed to focus on implementing the promises as opposed to empty rhetoric.