By Anderson Ojwang
The two senior politicians from Mt Kenya – the impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and his successor Kithure Kindiki have been treating Kenyans to what can be termed as a “toddlers’ fight.”
At one point they are extending reconciliation overtures and sympathy, at another instance it is bare-knuckle, and at another point it is humour laced with sarcasm.
On Wednesday, Gachagua spoke of the tribulations of Kindiki and the embarrassment he was currently undergoing, and capped it with claims that the Deputy President doesn’t have people behind him, which was the reason for his tribulations.
“In the recent UDA-ODM PG in Naivasha, the Deputy President was seated there, and President William Ruto allegedly plotted to embarrass him. The President allegedly told Kisii Governor Simba Arati to demand that the seat of Deputy President belonged to ODM, and if Kindiki wanted it, let him defect to ODM. Sadly, Kindiki sits and watches as he is humiliated and looks down,” he claimed.
Gachagua claimed that if there was a plot to chase away Kindiki because he doesn’t have the following, why should he be abused in public and his seat form part of public discussion?
But Kindiki hit back at Gachagua over his claim and asked who doesn’t have the following.
Kindiki wrote on social media platforms: “Ati nani hana watu? (Who doesn’t have the people?)”
Gachagua said Kindiki deserves respect and that it was unfortunate that he had been shoved off from walking on the presidential red carpet.
“Kindiki walks on the grass while ODM party leader walks on the carpet. I cannot allow and tolerate that,” he said.
Peace overture
Kindiki recently extended peace and unity overtures to Gachagua over plots to divide Mt Kenya.
Kindiki told Gachagua that the unity of the region was paramount and they needed to treat one another with respect, devoid of abuses.
“My dear brother Rigathi Gachagua, I am not asking you to join the government because you left. I pray for you in the role you are currently playing. But do it with respect. Let us not cause division in Mt Kenya. I will not abuse you because you are my brother, and you too don’t abuse me,” he said.
But Gachagua dismissed the overture, saying it was culturally wrong to “kill your brother and take his wife.”
“Do not call me your brother because even if you are someone’s brother, can you kill him and take his wife? You say one is your brother but you killed him and took his wife,” he said.
Kindiki called for respect and peaceful co-existence in Mt Kenya to avoid division in the region.
When you were my boss
“For two years Gachagua was in office as Deputy President, I was Cabinet Secretary for Internal Security, and not any single day in those two years did I undermine him,” he said.
But Gachagua dismissed Kindiki, saying he sabotaged his fight against alcoholism in Mt Kenya.
“I have seen Kindiki saying he has no problem with me and that when I was in office, he respected me. That we only differed after he left. How did you respect me? The day I finished alcoholism in the region, you acted on the contrary,” he said.
Kindiki said he supported Gachagua while he was Deputy President and he was never engaged in politics.
“I supported him 100 percent. I was very busy with my ministry and never engaged in politics. The Cabinet Secretary for Internal Security is a focused docket. For the two years, I was living in the forest. For two years, I was your junior while you were in government. Not a single day did I abuse you,” he said.
The appointment
Kindiki said his appointment to the post of Deputy President was by the grace of God and that Gachagua should remain respectful.
“I didn’t know after your removal, I would be made Deputy President. I didn’t know where he would take it. President William Ruto had the option of taking the seat to Nyanza or Western, and even Coast, but he decided that the seat belonged to Mt Kenya. I want to request peace. Ask for your Kalonzo Musyoka or any other opposition candidate for the presidency while we will meet at the ballot,” he said.
But Gachagua told Kindiki to sort out his own problems with President Ruto and the Kenya Kwanza government without involving him.
“How did you respect me while you undermined my duty to finish alcoholism in Mt Kenya? Even if you have a problem with Ruto, stay there,” he said.
Welcome home
Earlier, Gachagua had claimed that Kindiki was being subjected to the same mistreatment he went through before he was impeached.
He told Kindiki that he was welcome back home in the political formation that Mt Kenya has shifted to.
But Kindiki declined the overtures, saying he had built the party and cannot walk away and will be President Ruto’s running mate.
Who is the king of the Mountain?
After the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election loss by UDA, Kindiki told Gachagua that the battle for the region was still a tie and that none had the bragging right.
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.
Genesis of rivalry
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 Gachagua and 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.
Not my peer
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,” he said.
