Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is a man who is both liked and loathed in equal measures. Everytime he gets hold of the microphone, there are those especially in the Kenya Kwanza goverment who will bury their faces in the palms and there are those who will adjust themselves well on their seats inorder not to miss any word that he will utter. Like today when he was the guest of honour in a graduation ceremony at Kenyatta University , he thanked the University for giving him and his boss , President Ruto good wives. Oooh!! That means, first lady Rachel Ruto and Rigathi 's wife Dorcas Rigathi are alumni of Kenyatta University while their husbands are alumni of The University of Nairobi. That coincidence is hilarious to say the least.
The thing that should not escape our minds especially residents of Mt Kenya region is that , DP Gachagua is preparing himself to be the next Mt Kenya region spokesperson and kingpin. It is a quest that he is pushing with all his might though he is doing it through proxies drawn from both Kenya Kwanza Alliance and Azimio la Umoja who hails from this region. After Jubilee Party EALA nominee Kanini Kega narrowly escaped being thrown out in Parliament when MPs where voting for those members who will represent Kenya in Arusha, Kanini was fast to attribute his survival in Parliament to Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. That we're it not for him , he would have visited Arusha as a tourist or on business and not as an EALA MP. Immediately after that , he was quick to proclaim that, Rigathi Gachagua is and should be the next Mt Kenya region kingpin and that efforts are in the offing to lure those politicians who hail from Mt Kenya region but are still aligning themselves with Azimio la Umoja. They targeted that by the end of this year , efforts will be made using all means to rally the mountain behind Gachagua.
Is this a very easy and cosy task really? From where I am seated it is not. It is good to remember that , during the campaign season, William Ruto while campaigning in Kiambu County chided Azimio la Umoja presidential candidate Raila Odinga who had just began climbing the mountain that at Nanyuki, him (Ruto) is the new Mt Kenya region Political kingpin and that Raila Odinga should pass through him inorder to get the blessings of the mountaineers. All the UDA functionaries from Mt Kenya region who were in that rally were all in jubilation and they felt that , the statement by Ruto was not only a stab on Raila's back but also Uhuru Kenyatta. Kenyatta is still the holder of the mantle of kingpinship in Mt Kenya region since it hasn't been taken away from him. When Ruto pronounced himself as the GEMA nation Kingpin, none , underline , none in UDA from this region raised a finger. So , from where I am seated , with former President Uhuru Kenyatta out of active Politics, the kingpin is President Ruto. What Gachagua is doing is taking the kingpinship not from former head of State Uhuru Kenyatta but President Ruto. The question is , will Ruto sit cosy and see his ambitious DP trying to cut him into size politically? Again, president Ruto isn't less of options. We all saw him making peace with COTU boss Atwoli. Ruto is a very calculative political animal. He knows too well that the mountain may show him their backs come 2027 and because they kind betrayed him between 2013 and 2017 , he need to fortify his political bases outside his Rift Valley backyard and the GEMA nation region.
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As we speak, the Mt Kenya region feels betrayed. The economic salvation they were promised by this Government is not coming forth and what they are experiencing is high cost of living rising unabated each day yet, during CAMPAIGNS, they were promised an economic friendly environment. I have listened and heard the tone which has started cropping up in the villages , makeshift eatery joints, shopping centres etc and it seems the Wanjiku of Mt Kenya region is going back to the factory settings. It is good to have one of our own holding the most coveted political seat in the land but for DP Gachagua, bringing the mountain behind him won't be a walk in the park. There is something else that can't be wished away in as far as Mt Kenya region is concerned. The Mt Kenya east feels that it is their time to lead the rest of the region because, since independence, GEMA nation from Mt Kenya west have held that mantle for long and that they have been toeing the line. It is also important to note , there are tensions between Nyeri, Kiambu and Mūrang'a political supremacy battles. Each want to rise to the occasion. Kiambu has produced both Kenyatta senior and junior. Nyeri has produced Kibaki. Mūrang'a produced the late Matiba though he did won the presidential seat back in 1992. It is this kind of rivalry though it is pronounced and as an outsider you won't realize it easily that Ruto will exploit. Moi did it and succeeded. Why should you believe his political student in Ruto won't succeed?
Today at Kenyatta University, Deputy President Rigathi continued to throw veiled jabs to former President Uhuru Kenyatta. The kind of words he used showed and portrayed someone who isn't ready to unite the mountain. He cannot hold that kind of vendetta and bitterness towards the former head of State. Yes!! They may have collided in the past but that doesn't warrant him to continue harbouring bitterness when on the other side , he is telling us to rally behind him as a region. All what he should remember is , from his end , he ought to have deleted Uhuru from his heart and mind but majority of GEMA nation haven't. That's why when his photo appears in social media spaces, the kind of reception he gets tells you Mt Kenya region aren't ready to write him off from their hearts and minds. That's why , Gachagua clarion call to the mountain to rally behind him may turn to be another wild goose chase. The other question we should be asking ourselves, does he half the blessings of his boss? The answer is not. Just like Ruto forcefully grabbed Mt Kenya region political bastion from his boss against his wishes and it ended up straining the relationship, that is exactly what is in the offing. The only difference is that , Ruto needs a second term and to achieve it, he needs to keep Mt Kenya region voting block under his armpits. That's why he is avoiding and will avoid a political head on between him and his deputy Rigathi Gachagua. It is not that he is happy with what Rigathi is doing but if Rigathi closes the red and his quest to rally behind the GEMA nation starts bearing fruits, he(Ruto) will us proxies from this very region to snear , chide , disparage and attack him. This is where the bubble will burst. Even seen the conversation of making Rigathi Gachagua Mt Kenya region political kingpin was introduced for the first time and started gaining some momentum, the only politicians who have been vocal and not all are political leaders from Nyeri County. The rest of Mt Kenya region have been cagey on that issue and sound uninterested in it. To DP, let him remember this all the time, chiding Uhuru Kenyatta won't attract the residents to his fold but he will continue isolating himself from them. He needs to make peace with him and share a cup of tea. If President Ruto is extending an olive branch to his political adversaries , does he mean he doesn't know what he is doing? Who tells Mt Kenya region thet Ruto cannot reach out to Raila Odinga if the region can threaten his rule and political career?
For those who feel that the mountain coming together isn't something hard should remember that , since this Government came to power, GEMA nation haven't tasted an iota of its goodies. They haven't suckled from its breasts. They are still dry and completely not producing even a drop of milk which they were yearning after being told , Mr Jones from Ichaweri gas been milking all the milk and taking it all to himself. It is after the residents starts suckling from the breasts of this Government that they will hearken Rigathi clarion call to rally behind him. Anything short of that with all due respect will be treated with alot of contempt. The mountain will fit in the shoes of mulembe nation who since the rivalry between Mudaba Mudavadi, Masinde Muliro , Kijana Wamalwa , Shikuku let to serious disintegration of the Luhya nation for almost four decades now. Is this where the GEMA nation is heading? I may or maybe not , only time will tell.
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