‘Kufa dereva, kufa makanga!’ Section of Kenyans demand both Ruto and Gachagua be impeached

The public participation exercise on Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua's impeachment motion kicked off on Friday, with a section of Kenyans calling for President William Ruto to also vacate office. 

The day began with protests in Nyeri after residents stormed out of the venue to protest against the impeachment motion, citing that they were offered bribes to support the bid. 

The chants erupted into chaos as they barricaded major roads and ignited bonfires, chanting: "No Rigathi, No Government."

“Unapea watu form wasign ati upatie watu mia tano. Hatutaki hiyo mia tano...tunajua kujitaftia...No Rigathi...no government," one resident stated.

At Bomas of Kenya, the situation was no different as residents in Nairobi echoed the sentiments, stating that President Ruto should follow suit should his deputy's impeachment motion pass. 

Chants of "Kufa dereva, kufa makanga" could be heard renting the air, with the residents breaking into song and dance.

The phrase, which has become a phenomenon, means that if the DP gets impeached, his boss should also leave office since they came in together as a package deal.

"Tumechoka kuambiwa fulani ni mbaya na fulani ni mzuri. Embe moja ikioza kwa kikapu, yote yameoza. Nasema kufa dereva, kufa makanga na hashtag inapaswa kuwa #FagiaWote," a Starehe resident said. 

 "Hii serikali ni sisi tulichagua. Ikiwa Gachagua ni mbaya, hata Ruto ni mbaya. Wote waende. Hakuna kubakisha mtu; kufa dereva, kufa makanga," another Nairobi resident pointed out.

Disgruntled by the politics that has been unfolding in the country recently, Kenyans also strongly expressed their disaffection towards the current regime and called for the government to be disbanded. 

"Kenya must move forward! The Speaker of the National Assembly should be ready to take over for the next 90 days. For the sake of peace and tranquility in the country, this government must go home. We are ready to bring a new revolution and elect new leaders," another resident noted. 

The impeachment motion, tabled by Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse, has outlined 11 grounds to remove Gachagua from office.

Some of these grounds include gross misconduct, violation of the Constitution, undermining the presidency, corruption among others. 

The motion will undergo a second round ofpublic participation in line with the High Court orders before returning to the National Assembly for debate.

Kenya must move forward! The Speaker of the National Assembly should be ready to take over for the next 90 days. For the sake of peace and tranquillity in the country, this government must go home. We are ready to bring a new revolution and elect new leaders pic.twitter.com/eDdt2qYbcT

"Tumechoka kuambiwa flani ni mbaya na flani ni mzuri. Embe moja ikioza kwa kikapu, yote yameoza. Nasema kufa dereva, kufa makanga na hashtag inapaswa kuwa #fagiawote" - Starehe resident #GachaguaImpeachment pic.twitter.com/6EXnhz4aS0

"Tumechoka kuambiwa flani ni mbaya na flani ni mzuri. Embe moja ikioza kwa kikapu, yote yameoza. Nasema kufa dereva, kufa makanga na hashtag inapaswa kuwa #fagiawote" - Starehe resident #GachaguaImpeachment pic.twitter.com/6EXnhz4aS0— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) October 4, 2024