Gachagua to MPs: I am ready to face you

In what could send critics to wonder why he would not have waited for the charges awaiting him before the National Assembly to be read again today before defending himself through a more legal process, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua last evening began his defense through the court of public opinion.

In a long monologue on television, with little room for questions from assembled journalists, Gachagua insisted that he would not resign and further dismissed the charges in the motion of impeachment against him as 'a scheme to hound him out of office'. He also dismissed the public participation exercise carried out on Friday and Saturday as 'a shoddy exercise'.

Gachagua termed the motion tabled by Kibwezi West Mwengi Mutuse which will be discussed today as a scheme to get rid of him through politics of conmanship and betrayal.

Gachagua assured Members of Parliament that he will avail himself before them to defend himself for two hours hoping that they will hear him in silence.

Justifying his statement yesterday, he said the over seven million Kenyans who elected him needed a chance to hear him before parliament.

"My response was not part of what was given to the people of Kenya, the people of Kenya were being asked whether I should continue holding office without my side of the story, rules of natural justice state that no man should be condemned unheard, my advocates will be challenging this vigorously," said Gachagua.

He accused Mutuse for not doing due diligence before alleging that he had amassed wealth worth Sh5.2 million for two years he has been in office with some of the properties he is alleged to have amassed owned by his late brother former Nyeri Governor Nderitu Gachagua.

He said that three weeks before his death in 2017, Nderitu wrote his will and appointed him as the executor of his will alongside Advocate Njoroge Regeru and his longtime friend Mwai Mathenge and that the three of them have done their best to ensure that his property has been distributed fairly.

He said that Mutuse has embarrassed himself for going to the floor of the house to allege that some of his brother's properties were acquired by the Deputy President in 2022 and that it was sad that they were now a subject of discussion and alleged to be proceeds of corruption and money laundering.

"Mutuse has gone to the floor of the house to allege four properties acquired by my brother are now being alleged to proceeds of crime, I ask my brother forgiveness for having joined politics since his family could not be subjected to what they are going through at the moment," said Gachagua.

Gachagua said that they have disposed some of his brother's properties to clear off his debts and that he was sad that Mutuse had listed some of them as acquired through proceeds of corruption without due diligence.

He accused his detractors of being in haste to kick him out of office and that Kieni MP Njoroge Wainaina had sold him 35 acres of land in question in 2015 wondering why he did not point this out when he was appending his signature to kick him out office.

"Had there been no malice Wainaina should have advised Mutuse that he sold me this 35 acres piece of land in 2015, but as we all know that there was a lot of coercion and intimidation. In fact I am being told the MP is admitted in hospital," said Gachagua.

Gachagua said that he was a businessman before becoming a politician during President Mwai Kibaki's era and that he had also started a foundation to assist destitute children and only got Sh 12 million which he has used to educate them.

"It is very sad that some people want to pull my wife Dorcas Rigathi in mud yet she has been running the Dorcas Rigathi foundation that has been assisting the boy child across the country and it has never traded with government," said Gachagua.