Nderitu Gachagua: A dead man's will that's haunting his brother Rigathi

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who is facing an impeachment battle that threatens to kill his political ambition, decided to tell his side of the story and that is when his brother, former Nyeri Governor Nderitu Gachagua was dragged from beyond the grave.

DP Gachagua came dragging receipts to prove that some of the accusations against him in the impeachment battle were false.

His political career hangs in the balance as he is accused of having used his office to amass wealth worth billions of shillings.

Kibwezi West Member of Parliament Mwengi Mutuse, in a motion tabled before parliament, is accusing the Deputy President of corruption, undermining the government and practising ethnically divisive politics, among other charges. 

Mutuse accuses the second most powerful man in the country of having acquired wealth worth Ksh.5.2 billion in a mere two years that he has held the office.

That is where Nderitu Gachagua comes in from the afterlife.

On Monday evening, at a press conference at his official residence, Gachagua denied the accusations, terming them “outrageous”, “sheer propaganda”, and a scheme to hound him from office unfairly.

A tell-all address

When he spoke during the press conference on Monday, Gachagua attributed part of what he is accused of corruptly obtaining as being the estate of his late big brother, Nderitu Gachagua, who died in 2017 while serving as Nyeri Governor. 

The DP said he owed his late brother Nderitu an apology, posthumously, for dragging his will into the public domain.

He said, his brother bequeathed his legally acquired properties to his wife, children and the larger family yet this had now become the crux of accusations against him.

The properties include Olive Garden Hotel in Nairobi, Vipingo Beach Resort in Kilifi and Queens Gate Serviced Apartment Spar and Resort, also in Nairobi.

He decried the fact that his brother’s estate was being subjected to public debate as proceeds of crime. 

Shortly before the press conference, some political pundits who had written him off, said his hour of reckoning had come, and that he was going to throw in the towel.

But that was not to be… Like a cat pressed to a corner, he came out fighting, addressing some of the issues listed in the corruption accusations levelled against him.

Gachagua finished by saying he is ready to meet his accusers in parliament, and by so doing set the stage for an epic battle of his political life.

The awakened Nderitu Gachagua

Nderitu Gachagua, the elder brother to current DP, died at the age of 64, on February 24, 2017, at the Royal Marsden Hospital, in London, United Kingdom. He had been ailing from cancer of the pancreas.

Nderitu was a trained quantity surveyor who first worked within the Ministry of Public Works in 1977 after graduating from the University of Nairobi with an undergraduate degree in Building Economics. 

He served in various capacities including being a Provincial Quantity Surveyor, at the Ministry of Public Works, until 1983 when he moved to the National Housing Corporation, a government parastatal, as the Chief Quantity Surveyor.

Nderitu also delved into private practice in 1987 by registering his private firm which was in operation until his demise.

The late Nderitu ventured into politics in 2003 after he successfully contested the Mathira Constituency seat and held it for two consecutive five-year terms as an MP.

He was elected as the first Governor of Nyeri County with the inauguration of the devolved system of government during the 2013 General Election.

Nderitu served as the Chairperson of the Council of Governors (CoG) Committee on Agriculture and was a leading politician in the Mount Kenya region as it came as no surprise when former President Uhuru named him among the top politicians to lead his re-election campaigns in 2017. 

The Nderitu Gachagua Will for all

The former governor’s estate is inclusive of his two widows and two sons born out of his immediate family.  Gachagua pointed out that he had two wives – Margaret Nyokabi and Margaret Waithegeni.

He desired that all his properties, except the houses he left to his two widows and two sons, be sold. Among the beneficiaries, none got more than ten per cent of his estate.

The properties include Olive Garden Hotel in Nairobi, Vipingo Beach Resort in Kilifi and Queens Gate Serviced Apartment Spar and Resort, also in Nairobi.

He left his home in Langata to his wife Nyokabi with directions that she hold it in trust for her children while the home in Karen was left under the trust of his wife Waithegeni as well as a house in Meru.

Kenneth Gachagua and Jason Gachagua, are to share their father’s ancestral home in Hiriga, Nyeri County, equally.  He bequeathed his brother, Geoffrey Rigathi Gachagua, shares he held at Mweiga Homes in Nyeri.

Apart from these properties that he bequeathed to a close family, he directed the executors of his will to liquidate all assets to settle his liabilities and proceed to distribute the balance from the sales.

The late Nderitu entrusted, for five per cent of his will, his brother Rigathi, his close friend Mwai Mathenge and lawyer Njoroge Regeru the responsibility of executing his will.

Kenneth, Jason, Susan and Mercy, his children, each received ten per cent of their father’s estate as compared to five per cent bequeathed to his wives.

Nderitu bestowed five per cent of his estate to his mother, Martha to be held in trust by Rigathi Gachagua.

Rigathi was bequeathed five per cent of Nderitu’s estate, while one of their brothers, Jackson received four per cent. To his sons not born by the two wives, he left a cumulative eight per cent of his estate.

He left his late brother’s (Fred Wachira) children four per cent of his estate. He bequeathed Dorcas Rigathi two per cent of his estate and his sisters, Lilian, Jeniffer, Linda and Eunice, each got one per cent each.

Nderitu’s Will included a cumulative three per cent share of his estate to his five step-siblings. The balance of 11 per cent after giving each beneficiary their portion would be focused towards administering the estate. 

At his demise, Nderitu Gachagua had plots in Karen, Vipingo Beach, Nairobi and Kiangwaci as well as Ksh.200 million in bank accounts. Nderitu owned He also owned eight vehicles including a Mercedes Benz, Range Rover, BMW, and Audi Q7, among others.

The late Nderitu Gachagua included a caveat in the Will, anyone who challenged the Will in court would have to forfeit their inheritance. 

The first DP impeachment motion under the new Constitution

The tabling of the impeachment motion against DP Gachgua is a historic first under Kenya’s 2010 Constitution.

Gachagua has weathered growing seclusion in the government but has vowed to resist the impeachment efforts.

The clouds we kept hearing of are now thick and black, tonight he faces an hour of reckoning!

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is currently facing ten allegations, according to the impeachment motion drafted by Kibwezi West Member of Parliament, Mutuse Mwengi.

If culpable he will be removed from office. MP Mwengi accuses Gachagua of gross violations of the Constitution, including promoting ethnic discrimination and undermining national unity through divisive public statements.

DP Gachagua is also accused of failing to respect his office as Deputy President, by going against the principle of collective Cabinet responsibility and contradicting cabinet policies.

The filed motion accuses Gachagua of lacking respect for other government levels and functions and by so doing, interfering with devolved county functions.

He is also accused of threatening the judiciary, and hence violating the principle of judicial independence. 

Gachagua is also accused of fanning negative ethnicity by uttering inflammatory words in violation of the National Cohesion and Integration Act.

The filed motion also alleges that DP Gachagua engaged in corruption, money laundering, and abuse of office, violating anti-corruption laws, all of which are illegal. 

The motion further alleges that DP Gachagua made false and malicious statements, breaching the Penal Code and Leadership and Integrity Act.

Lastly, the motion claims The DP is involved in gross misconduct, such as irresponsible attacks on the National Intelligence Service, defiance of the President, intimidation of public officers, and manipulating corruption through his office.