Gachagua turns fire on Matiang'i, Muturi over game of numbers

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has fired back at Fred Matiang’i and Justin Muturi, challenging the two leaders to prove their political strength on the ground instead of questioning his emphasis on numbers in the race to unseat President William Ruto.

Speaking at his Wamunyoro residence yesterday, after hosting former Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu, Gachagua accused the two opposition leaders of spending too much time in hotels, boardrooms and television studios while  Ruto continued building his political support across the country.

“How do you want me not to talk about numbers while Ruto was working on numbers in my absence?  And now even Hassan Omar is talking about voting the dead while you are at a hotel room,” he said.

He challenged Matiang’i and Muturi to get out of their comfort zones and mobilise voters, arguing that nobody would simply hand them the opposition's presidential ticket.

“How do you become president without numbers, claiming to have ideas and records? For you to be president, people must see you. I am a practical politician and I know that for you to become president, you must have numbers,” he said.

“Go out and mobilise numbers. Don't just sit. Nobody will be given the presidency on a silver platter.”

The former Deputy President went further to question the electoral strength of some of his critics, citing by-election performances which he said exposed the difference between political ambitions and the ability to mobilise voters.

He singled out Muturi, who had previously expressed willingness to help remove Ruto from power but allegedly failed to attract support even in his own polling station.

“You went into a by-election for MCA in your polling station, yet you only mobilised 35 votes and Ruto defeated you by 238. Yet you want to lecture Riggy G?” he posed.

“If you cannot defeat Kasongo in your polling station, how can you defeat him in the whole of Kenya?”

Gachagua also cited the Ol Kalou by-election, claiming that his DCP secured 35,000 votes while the two leaders managed 194 and 28 votes, respectively.

He maintained that the opposition needed leaders with a proven ability to mobilise support, adding that at least 18 million votes would be required to remove Ruto from power.

Gachagua also questioned the activities of two opposition leaders during his two-month stay in the United States, accusing them of sitting lazily instead of strengthening their political networks.

“Since I went to the US, how many meetings have you held? Then you are making noise on TV and in press conferences,” he said.

He warned that he would not take responsibility for finding votes for leaders who were unwilling to do the groundwork themselves.

“No one should imagine that Gachagua’s job is to go out and hunt for votes to bring votes to your comfort zone. I will only work with like-minded leaders,” he said.

Former Meru Senator Mithika Linturi also joined Gachagua in taking on Matiang’i and Muturi, accusing them of creating divisions within the opposition and bringing confusion to the Mt Kenya region.

Linturi told Muturi to concentrate on building his political support before seeking the opposition's presidential ticket.

“Those people who wanted to divide the opposition were defeated. So my brother Muturi, don't bring confusion in our region,” he said.

He also criticised Matiang’i over his decision to field candidates in areas where he claimed he had advised him against doing so, citing Ol Kalou and Emurua Dikirr.

“That person from Jubilee is a crybaby. He does not listen. In Ol Kalou, I told him not to put a candidate, but he didn't listen. He brought the candidate and failed, as well as in Emurua Dikirr,” Linturi said.

He challenged Matiang’i to return to his political base, consolidate support and demonstrate his strength before presenting himself as a presidential contender.

“Go back to Kisii, consolidate your people and bring them to Wamunyoro so that you can tell us you want to be the presidential candidate,” he added.

The clash comes days after Matiang’i criticised Gachagua’s  reliance on numerical strength, warning that the approach risked pushing away leaders and communities whose support would be important in building a national opposition coalition.

The former Interior Cabinet Secretary described what he termed majoritarian arrogance as a threat to opposition unity.

“That majoritarian arrogance and that particular pride is precisely what is going to split the opposition and make it very difficult for the opposition to come together,” Matiang’i said.

He warned against political arrangements that make some Kenyans feel their participation is unnecessary, drawing parallels with the divisions that preceded the 2007 post-election violence.

“If you remember in 2007, when we had challenges in this country, the whole politics started from that level of arrogance, which finally resulted in 41 versus one, and then caused so much pain and anguish in the country,” he said.

Muturi had also criticised Gachagua, accusing him of political bullying, double-speak and undermining efforts to build a united opposition.

He had argued that no individual or community should claim ownership of the opposition or dictate how political partnerships should be formed.

“No individual owns the United Opposition, and no community has a monopoly on Kenya's presidency. Political partnerships must be built on mutual respect, not ultimatums, political bullying or supremacy contests,” he said.

He also credited Ngilu with advising him on lessons from the political alliance that brought together the late president Mwai Kibaki and the late Michael Kijana Wamalwa ahead of the 2002 General Election.

Gachagua said the opposition had agreed to settle on one presidential candidate early next year, expressing confidence that the coalition would eventually overcome its internal disagreements.

“We in the opposition have already agreed that we must settle on one presidential candidate to face Ruto. We may have minor disagreements, but that should not make us enemies or prevent us from working together. The journey to send Ruto home is being planned, and I want to assure Kenyans that we shall overcome our differences and present a united opposition. As I have always said, I will support any other leader who is selected as the opposition's flagbearer,” he said.

Adding: "Today, I met the Iron Lady of Kenyan politics, Hon. Charity Ngilu. She was the architect of the NARC dream and, together with the late President Mwai Kibaki and Kijana Wamalwa, crafted a winning strategy that brought the KANU era to an end," Gachagua stated.

Ngilu also weighed in saying: "Kenyans have another 2002 MOMENT within reach as we head into the next general election.

This is a moment of reckoning for the opposition, and no one must be left behind. We faced similar challenges in 2002 and overcame most of them because we understood, collectively, that Kenya is bigger than any one of us."