Rigathi Gachagua: Early lessons from Kanu books may work for or against him

Is Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua among those Deputy President William Ruto is considering as a running mate?

The MP yesterday said the DP was in control of the process and should be given the leeway to make up his mind.

He was quick to deflect the attention from himself, saying what Ruto thinks about his chances, or any other politician’s chances, of becoming a running mate were the DP’s private thoughts.

“I may have my private thoughts which I would rather keep private because it’s good to keep my thoughts private. I also don’t want to influence the Deputy President. I’m influencing him (for the running mate to be) from the mountain, but as to who from the mountain it’s only fair that we allow him to look for somebody he has good chemistry with and who has capacity and knowledge,” said Mr Gachagua.

“We are not going to form a team to advise the Deputy President. He knows his team, what he’s looking for and the political dynamics.”

Elected MP in 2017, Rigathi quickly became one of the leading voices criticising President Uhuru Kenyatta, a man he served as a personal assistant in 2002 when Uhuru first sought the presidency on a Kanu ticket.

Mr Gachagua was among the legislators who decamped from Jubilee Party and formed UDA to show their support for Dr Ruto.

The MP has gained prominence in UDA, but his rise to the top of politics in Nyeri has earned him admirers and critics.

During the party’s National Delegates Conference, Mr Gachagua sat at the front row next to Dr Ruto’s wife Rachel, an indicator of his prominence in the UDA leader’s State House campaign.

When his late brother, Nyeri governor Nderitu Gachagua, was hospitalised, Mr Gachagua was accused of imposing his will on the county and acting as a pseudo governor.

It was an accusation that the businessman took pleasure in. He would not sit by and do nothing while his brother was in hospital, he said.

“There are people who accuse me of meddling in county affairs when the governor is away, but do they expect me to simply sit and watch? I would not be forgiven for neglecting my brother,” Mr Gachagua said then.

Mr Gachagua has worked in government for decades.

Between 2001 and 2006, he was President Kenyatta’s personal assistant. He also worked with him in politics for decades, cementing a close relationship.

Mr Gachagua worked as an assistant secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs between 1989 and 1990.

In 1990, he was recruited as a District Officer cadet and underwent training at the Administration Police Institute (Paramilitary Training) and the Kenya School of Government (Advanced Public Administration Course 1999-2000).

He served in the Provincial Administration as a DO for 14 years in various areas, among them Kirinyaga, Kiambaa, Limuru, Ng’arua, Kakamega and Garissa, with a short break as personal assistant to the Head of Public Service (1991-93).

Mr Gachagua and Dr Ruto’s relationship goes back to 2002 when they were both in Kanu.

The MP also said that he and the DP are neighbours in Karen.

“I have known Ruto for two decades. He is my neighbour in Karen and our families are close. He is also a critical thinker,” said Mr Gachagua in an interview last year.

Those lobbying for Mr Gachagua say that he is politically mature and a mobiliser by virtue of the years he worked in the Moi government as an administrator. The financial muscle he commands also gives him an added advantage.

But question still remains on whether the MP could bring value outside of Mt Kenya.

The MP has been quick to shut the door to any suggestion that Dr Ruto looks for a running mate outside Mt Kenya. He insisted on Sunday that the promise of getting a seat at Harambee House Annex made the region comfortable in Kenya Kwanza Coalition.

“Ruto’s running mate must come from the mountain. Before we were joined by the other people, we had our own arrangements that we had discussed and my position has been, whatever had been agreed upon earlier cannot change drastically to the disadvantage of the Mt Kenya region,” Mr Gachagua said on KTN News.

But even as his political future is looking up, the MP’s legal troubles are hounding him.

He was charged last year for allegedly acquiring at least Sh7.3 billion suspected to be proceeds of crime. In 2020, the Assets Recovery Agency obtained orders freezing three accounts linked to the MP, which held Sh201 million, over claims that they are proceeds of crime.

He has maintained that the cases against him are politically motivated

Political analyst Javas Bigambo believes that some of the names being touted as running mates are meant to throw the public off the scent.

“Some of these leaders are red herrings. They are decoys intended for the clueless masses watching who Ruto is with,” he said.