Things fall apart: DP Gachagua, allies launch all-out war on President Ruto

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua's mirror has for months shown a reflection of the horrors his boss President William Ruto faced during his term as the nation's second in command.

Now on the receiving end, Rigathi Gachagua has sat under political clobber as he navigates the parabolic mission of 'climbing the mountain' as he has attempted to champion unity in the Mt. Kenya region.

Amid rumours that there is a plan being hatched to impeach Gachagua and a forced bromance turned sour between him and President Ruto, the DP let the cat out of the bag in a tell-all interview when he confirmed that he has not been seeing eye-to-eye with Mr Ruto and he has faced humiliation from the 'president's men'.

In the interview with Citizen TV on Friday, September 20, he revealed that a section of Members of Parliament (MPs) are being bribed and intimidated in a bid to move an impeachment motion against him.

"I am a consumer of information, and when you call people for a meeting thinking that you are keeping a big secret…we get to know these things when meetings are going on," he noted.

He also asked President Ruto to crack the whip and bring order to the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party and the Kenya Kwanza outfit at large, amid reports of incessant political in-fighting.

“It’s up to our boss (President Ruto) to decide what should be done because he is our party leader. He can call a PG and bring down the political temperatures; tell the Members of Parliament to stop attacking each other, ask those who accompany him who abuse the Deputy President to stop…because if he told them to stop, they would stop. Ask them to stop these night meetings…it’s really him to provide leadership so that the country can go back to work,” he said.

Two days later during a church service in Thika, Kiambu County, Gachagua and his allies launched an all-out attack on President Ruto sending warnings of dire ramifications if he is ousted from office.

Taking the lectern, DP Gachagua fired a warning at Mr Ruto, urging him to avoid reviving the politics of betrayal that have historically sparked acrimony in the country.

Gachagua further reminded his boss of the support he received from the region when he was being ostracized by the Uhuru Kenyatta-led regime and he should desist from inviting the misfortune to his government.

"Let us not reintroduce the politics of betrayal. Ruto is a beneficiary of Mt. Kenya's disdain for betrayal. Our people hate it and are unforgiving," he said.

"When there was an attempt to betray him, our people stood firm. They supported him to show their displeasure with betrayal."

Echoing his fiery sentiments, embattled United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party Secretary General Cleophas Malala urged President Ruto to block the alleged plan of impeaching DP Gachagua.

Malala argued that the alleged plan to oust DP Gachagua is reportedly being pushed by Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party-allied legislators, warning the president that the same leaders will train their guns to cripple him from clinching the presidential seat for a second term.

"I am not qualified to advise but these people you want to use to oust your deputy who stood with you, you might be thinking that you are impeaching Rigathi Gachagua but you have started the journey of removing yourself," noted Malala.

"The same people who are moving that motion, and I am being told that they have selected Junet Mohamed and Peter Kaluma, will start by removing your deputy but I assure you those same people will remove you as president."

On her part, Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba claimed that a plan is being hatched to present the impeachment motion in Parliament next week.

"We hate betrayal. The impeachment is being planned and those people who are being used to sign it are the same ones who insulted and humiliated. My president, please remember," she said.

"Kiambu County gave you (Ruto) 606,000 votes. Respect those votes and let Rigathi Gachagua do his job."

The same sentiments were echoed by Senators Karungo wa Thang'wa (Kiambu), Joe Nyutu (Murang'a) MPs James Gakuya (Embakasi North), Benjamin Gathiru (Embakasi Central), former Laikipia Woman Representative Cate Waruguru among others.

They all condemned the alleged attempt to oust DP Gachagua, vowing to oppose the ouster proposal that is reportedly being penned to unsit the second-in-command.

"How many agree that we were conned by Ruto? How many say that Ruto must go? How many agree that Ruto is a one-term president? Waruguru posed to the charged crowd.

Calling the bluff

Gachagua's all-out war on his boss has however, though unsurprisingly, invited censure from Ruto's supporters and leaders alike.

Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Chairperson Gladys Wanga read mischief in the DP's statements and claimed that the frustrations arose from President Ruto's decision to form a broad-based government with the opposition, insisting that he should cease lamenting and focus on his job.

"Be serious with the work you're elected by the people. If you're the DP or the President, you must be serious, instead of complaining. Kenya Kwanza's role is clear," Wanga noted.

Gachagua's now supposed nemesis Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah dismissed the impeachment claim, dismissing it as a "sympathy-seeking gimmick" to try and incite people from the Mt. Kenya region against their leaders.

"If you listened to him, he passed a veiled threat to Kenyans, saying that an impeachment motion would cause political instability, or rather he framed it's about the stability of the nation. What he meant, is that he is trying to threaten that should there be one, there will be political instability."

Other leaders have demanded that if DP Gachagua is to be ousted then there should be a similar bid to oust President Ruto.