Rigathi Gachagua's hits and misses

When impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua took oath of office as wife Dorcas Rigathi held the constitution at Kasarani stadium on September 13,2022. [File, Standard]

After the courts hammered the last nail in impeaching Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s political casket after withdrawing conservatory orders, he vacated his office paving the way for a new occupant even as he appeals against his impeachment.

But even as the beleaguered ousted deputy president limped out of his office, a closer look at his two-year checkered tenure offers a glimpse of his hits and misses. 

Having served for two years in office, Mr Gachagua goes out as a leader who lost the coveted crown as the country’s second-most powerful man but won the hearts of new admirers in Mt Kenya and beyond who had dismissed him as a greenhorn.

Before the 2022 presidential polls, Gachagua to many was just an abrasive first-term Mathira MP. 

By yesterday, one of his biggest achievements was rallying a critical mass of his constituents in Mt Kenya who somehow identified with his cause and perceived him as a man who had sacrificed his office to fight for them.

However, his biggest miss was the lack of a national appeal commensurate with the high office of the deputy president office that he held which afforded him an opportunity to rise beyond regional politics to a symbol of national unity.

Political analysts argue that some of Gachagua’s greatest achievement relates to his greatest undoing, noting that some of the major reasons he has been able to consolidate Mt Kenya region alienated him from his boss President William Ruto who engineered his downfall through the impeachment motion.

According to Dr Kamau Wairuri, a political scientist and a policy-oriented researcher, Gachagua’s clarion call of ‘one man, one vote, one shilling’ and his shareholding remarks which significantly contributed to his impeachment are part of his greatest achievements since he was able to convince his fans that he is their leader.

“A leader is he who is able to champion the interests of his community. That is how President Ruto and Azimio leader Raila Odinga have been able to command their regions. Given that Gachagua had no regional appeal let alone the national appeal, he identified issues that his people agitated for and resonated with them, while he gained them, he lost his position,” Wairuri.

Wairuri noted that through Gachagua’s mobilisation of his region to rally behind Ruto, he represented Mt Kenya’s honesty in keeping promises and that through his impeachment, he ably demonstrated his boss’ character. “During Uhuru’s tenure, Ruto presented himself as humble, God-fearing, a gentleman and just while he convinced Mt Kenya region that their son Uhuru was shrewd, ruthless and thankless. Now because of Gachagua, Mt Kenya region feel Ruto is unforgiving and intolerant, especially because he could not tolerate his deputy,” he added.

Wairuri noted that Gachagua had acquired much-needed political capital that he could bank for a future,  saying despite situations that Mt Kenya block would splinter into many small bits, it was now clear that it was Gachagua for the taking.

“He has quickly shed the image of a junior politician, one-term MP, and crafted the image of a defender of the community. This is not coming from his persecution, but also his very visible engagement with the issues that most voters from the region care about such as agriculture and the fight against alcohol. Strategically, due to his persecution, the blame for any failures of his efforts can be laid squarely at the door of those who fought him,” he said.

He, however, noted that due to Gachagua’s quick rise in politics, he failed to grasp one of the key insights of politics: that winning and ruling are not the same thing.

“The strategies and tactics you deploy and the alliances you build to win a seat, are not the same ones that keep you there. This is a lesson that his boss has learnt along the way, as can be demonstrated by the invitation of his hitherto bitter rivals into government. Gachagua on the other hand, appears to have carried the bitterness of the campaign into government, only realising too late that he needed to build bridges,” he said.

When Former President Uhuru Kenyatta shook hands with now impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua after they took oath of office at Kasarani stadium on September 13, 2022. [File, Standard]

Another loss as a result of Gachagua’s impeachment is Nyeri County which is now not represented at the national level. It was widely perceived that having the DP post, the county was ably represented in the Cabinet.

Since 1963, Nyeri County has produced the Cabinet Minister with leaders such as the third President the late Mwai Kibaki, Chris Murungaru, Davidson Ngibuini Kuguru and Mutahi Kagwe.

 According to Communication Expert and analyst Edward Kasembeli, for the two years that Gachagua enjoyed the trappings of power, he awakened the Kikuyu nationalism that had gone to slumber.

“Hate him or love him, Gachagua not only united Kikuyus but awakened the Kikuyu nationalism. His attempt to fight the alcohol and drug menace in Mt Kenya region also made his people appreciate that the illicit brews and second generation liquor was a major problem and a threat to development,” he said.