Big Test For Ruto As Mt Kenya Resists Gachagua Removal
Big Test For Ruto As Mt Kenya Resists Gachagua Removal
Ruto roused the region’s ire and offended ethnic sensibilities after engineering the removal of his divisive deputy who aspired to be the region’s supremo.
He was no longer useful and had become a liability.
Kenyan Politics 101, we know what happens next, some leaders and residents backing the DP have recently declared.
“No Gachagua, No Ruto,” after overwhelmingly voting for the 2022 Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua meets traders from Gikomba, OTC, Nyamakima, and Tea Room in Nairobi on September 20 /DPCS ticket.
“For us, divorcing Rigathi is divorcing the whole mountain,” Murang’a Senator Joseph Nyutu said.
Later this week, the Senate will pronounce Gachagua’s political fate, following what is expected to be an irresistible vote against him.
Some 282 MPs – including those from Mt Kenya – voted in favor of his removal, with only 44 rejecting the push.
The DP has publicly stated his impeachment has the approval of his boss, the man who single-handedly picked him as a running mate to bag Mt Kenya votes and trash the Kenyatta and Raila Odinga in the 2022 polls.
Gachagua, a skilled mobilizer, had but one term in Parliament and nuance was never his thing.
“To the issue that this impeachment motion could not find its way to the President’s say-so, that is true, it can’t. It has the President’s go-ahead,” Gachagua said.
The Deputy President made the remarks during a press briefing at his Karen residence last Monday.
Ruto has maintained a stoic silence on the bloodletting, even as his close troops in Parliament vote and push for the removal of the country’s second in command.
“Ruto lost Mt Kenya a long time ago. The people lost trust in him and it will be very difficult for him to come back. Gachagua’s impeachment is just adding to it,” political commentator Macharia Munene said.
Before the introduction of the impeachment motion, Gachagua traversed Mt Kenya, poisoning the ground for Ruto and winning sympathy.
He has promised to disclose all the secret, distasteful inner workings of the government.
Observers say that the DP appears abandoned by a majority of MPs from the area.
His strategy to ingratiate himself with the masses would deal a blow to, and possibly diminish, Ruto’s influence with Kikuyu voters.
Nothing a bunch of goodies won’t fix.
“Gachagua has gained sympathy. He had not reached the level of Mountain kingpin but his mistreatment and impeachment have won over many hearts,” Munene reckoned.
However, political analyst Mark Bichachi said while Gachagua appears to be enjoying sympathy now, it is not guaranteed to continue after he is removed from office.
“The Deputy President is currently benefitting from the sympathy from the Mountain, but how long he can milk that sympathy is the key question,” Bichachi told the Star.
Nairobi-based political analyst Dismus Mokua said Gachagua’s removal will have little impact on the President’s influence in the region.
Big Test For Ruto As Mt Kenya Resists Gachagua Removal
