By Anderson Ojwang
No bragging right. The game is still a tie. The referee waves play on for immediate former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and his successor Prof Abraham Kithure Kindiki.
Kindiki took the battle a notch higher when he posted on his social media platforms: “Mbeere North: 1, Ol Kalou: 1. Final Match: 10 Aug’ 2027,” in reference to the battle of Mt Kenya.
He went on to say: “A good time to re-engineer the game altogether.”
Kindiki and Gachagua are sworn political rivals, with each claiming seniority and the leadership of Mt Kenya.
Kindiki’s gauntlet
Ahead of the Ol Kalou by-election, Kindiki had promised to teach Gachagua another political lesson similar to Mbeere North.
He promised to deflate Gachagua, who has been chest-thumping as the king and de facto leader of Mt Kenya.
Kindiki was optimistic that the Ol Kalou by-election would be another opportunity to revenge and inflict another pain on Gachagua.
“Wait, there is a by-election coming in Ol Kalou, Nyandarua. I will meet with that man in Nyandarua. I am waiting to meet him in Nyandarua, and the way he chest-thumps, I will demolish him. I will dismantle him badly. That is where respect will prevail and will be birthed,” he said.
Hotels closed
On the eve of the by-election, Gachagua declared that all the hotels the government had opened in Ol Kalou were closed, and it was a defining moment.
“I have the duty and moral authority to officially announce that all Kasongo hotels that were opened in Ol Kalou and operated by his collaborators in hubris and betrayal, and partners in corruption and the looting of public resources, are officially shut and shall remain so,” he wrote.
He told the residents that the time was up for them to regroup back home and defeat UDA in the by-election.
“I am relaxing in Wamunyoro, waiting to celebrate with the residents of Ol Kalou on Thursday, 16th July, at 9:00 p.m.,” he wrote.
Honour in loss
Kindiki, the learned friend, understood honour in loss and was the first to concede defeat and congratulated Waweru.
“Congratulations Sammy Douglas Waweru Kamau on your imminent victory in the by-election held today for the MP seat for Ol Kalou constituency. Unite the residents and serve them all without distinction. Congratulations Samuel Muchina, our UDA Party candidate, for a good show and a mature, issue-based campaign devoid of insult,” he wrote.
Genesis
Kindiki’s tiff with Gachagua burst open during the 2022 choice of President William Ruto’s running mate.
Ruto, then Deputy President and UDA presidential candidate for the 2022 presidential election, had invited then Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua and then Tharaka Nithi Senator Prof Kithure Kindiki to a duel for his deputy.
In this contest, a stalemate that lasted over 17 hours was characterised by failed consensus building, with opinion polls favouring Kindiki.
Ruto and his team resorted to opinion polls conducted internally to unlock the stalemate. The first poll, conducted internally by a strategy and research team headed by Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir, involved 10,000 respondents drawn from 10 Mt. Kenya counties. In that poll, Kindiki trounced Gachagua, with Governor Anne Waiguru coming in third.
In the second survey, conducted nationwide in the 47 counties involving 25,000 respondents, Kindiki yet again emerged top, with Waiguru and Gachagua second and third respectively.
The final vote involved the Central Kenya UDA MPs, who were called in for a vote. Senator Kindiki once again trounced Gachagua.
Out of the 31 Mt. Kenya UDA MPs present, 22 voted in favour of Kindiki, 5 voted for Gachagua, two backed Waiguru, while Muturi obtained one vote, with one rejected vote.
The referee was left with no alternative but to annul the results and instead awarded the mantle to Gachagua, who was later impeached by Parliament and the Senate.
Impeachment
The impeachment of Gachagua opened the gate for Kindiki to become the third Deputy President. The elevation incensed Gachagua, who has never forgiven Kindiki.
Mbeere North
Mbeere North provided Kindiki with the opportunity to humiliate Gachagua at the ballot box. Gachagua supported the DP candidate Newton Kariuki, who lost to UDA’s Leo Wamuthende.
Gachagua dared President Ruto to join the fray during the Mbeere North campaigns, who instead enlisted the services of his deputy to lead the contest.
“You Kasongo, come. I am here with the people of Mbeere. We will show you dust. Don’t send a government employee. You Kasongo, come yourself. This Kasongo, the Mbeere people have eaten his money. Do we shave him?” Gachagua said.
For Kindiki, he delivered his promise by slaying the mountain Goliath to stake his claim as the biblical David of Mt Kenya and political leader.
“You came with your jokes and noise. Go away and leave me alone. You, Goliath, your days are numbered, and on Thursday, it will be done and dusted. I am the senior-most political leader in the Mt Kenya region, for the avoidance of doubt,” he said then.
Peers
Kindiki said Gachagua was not his peer in leadership and the academic world, as he has held various senior positions while the former Deputy President was a junior officer in the government.
“If you continue like that, I will embarrass you, Rigathi Gachagua. Leave me alone. Seek votes for Newton Kariuki and leave me alone. I am not a person to be played with. I have come here to seek votes for Wamuthende, and I am not forcing them. You have a lot of jokes. You Goliath, for far too long, you have threatened people. Your days are numbered. Come Thursday, you will suffer defeat,” he said then.
The battle just about to begin
When bulls fight, it is the grass that suffers. Mt Kenya is preparing to usher in the battle of the bulls.
Who will have the last laugh and say?
