Betraying Mt Kenya region will cost you, DP Gachagua warns Ruto

The daggers are drawn following reports of an impeachment motion being prepared against Deputy President, Rigathi Gachagua with the DP yesterday exciting the ground with his own epithets.

Against the backdrop of his own admission of severed ties with President William Ruto, Gachagua has now cautioned against return of politics of betrayal at the expense of running the government and delivering on the many promises that Kenya Kwanza gave in their five-year timeframe.

On Subday, Gachagua and his allies were in PEFA Church in Thika, where they sustained an onslaught on the president and urged him to put his house in order to avoid creating acrimony in the country over unsolicited actions of a few individuals.

Gachagua cautioned that the Mt Kenya people are unforgiving and do not entertain betrayal, even as he urged the President not to take that route because he risks losing their trust. He said it may not be possible to salvage such a situation.

“I want to ask my brother the president to be very cautious, do the right thing and keep our house together. Let us not be disruptive and not reintroduce the politics of betrayal,” said Gachagua.

“Any attempt to disrupt on the mandate to serve the people will have serious implications in our politics and that is not healthy for the country, government and leadership so let us be careful, cautious reasonable and do the right thing by respecting the will of the people through a direct vote of electing a president and a deputy. Let us not try to carry their mandate and take it upon ourselves to interfere the will of the people,” he said.

Gachagua repeated his earlier pronouncement that Ruto is the greatest beneficiary of Mt Kenya’s distaste for betrayal. He added that there is still room for the president to put his house in order.

“Our people hate betrayal and are very unforgiving if you betray them. I ask my brother Ruto not to be tempted to go to that direction because these people will be very unforgiving. When there was an attempt to betray him, the people of this region said no,” Gachagua uttered.

“We do not like betrayal, we do not entertain betrayal and for that reason, the people of this region stood with him to express their displeasure of betrayal. If we go towards that direction, this people will be very unforgiving. That is just my advice; it doesn’t have to be taken. If you betray these people, your relationship with them will come to an end and it cannot be savaged,” he said.

Gachagua stated that two years have passed since the current administration was voted into office and a lot of work has stalled including roads, water, electricity and schools, which he said are important to the electorate.

“According to me, this is the most important thing … hii maneno ya mipango ingine ya kuumiza na kutatiza wengine ukiniuliza haina haja (other issues of hurting and disrupting others are not important) because we were only given five years to work and if there is a problem in a homestead, the man of the house sits down with all his people and sorts out issues as opposed to division,”

Gachagua was accompanied by Senators Karungo wa Thang’wa (Kiambu), Joe Nyutu (Murang’a), legislators Gathoni Wamuchomba (Githunguri), James Gakuya (Embakasi North), Benjamin Gathiru Mejjadonk (Embakasi Central), former Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala, former Laikipia Woman Representative Cate Waruguru and MCAs.

Malala urged the president to block any attempts to impeach Gachagua, saying it will have serious implications on Ruto during the next General Election.

“I am not qualified to advise the president, my party leader, but with a lot of respect please listen to me. Those people you want to use to impeach the deputy president who stood by you, you might think you want to impeach Gachagua but maybe you have started your own journey of removing yourself," Malala said.

Insisting that he is still the bona fide United Democratic Alliance Secretary General, Malala said that it is important to keep track of their manifesto and promises, which he said has been disrupted.

“The same people, I'm told they have chosen Junet Mohamed and Peter Kaluma, who will start by removing your deputy but I want to assure you that the same people will remove you as president. I plead with you to bring your house to order and do not punish Gachagua,” Malala said

His sentiments were echoed by Wamuchomba, who said that they are on the look-out following reports that the impeachment motion will be presented to parliament next week.

She also said that the Mt Kenya region hates betrayal, urging the president to remember the 606,000 votes in Kiambu alone and not only respect the people’s voice but also allow Gachagua do his job.

“Today, I am a sad mother, daughter of the mountain. I am not qualified to advise the president but please remember how painful it was to get that seat. I cannot imagine it is only two years and we have forgotten what we went through. Now we are chest thumping as we attempt to impeach the deputy President,” Wamuchomba said.