Why DP Gachagua is on an apology tour to Uhuru Kenyatta, Mama Ngina
![Why DP Gachagua is on an apology tour to Uhuru Kenyatta, Mama Ngina Why DP Gachagua is on an apology tour to Uhuru Kenyatta, Mama Ngina](https://citizentv.obs.af-south-1.myhuaweicloud.com/125794/conversions/Untitled-design-og_image.webp)
A side-by-side image of DP Rigathi Gachagua and former President Uhuru Kenyatta. PHOTO | DPCS
They
say in politics, there are no permanent enemies, and no permanent friends, only
permanent interests. This seesaw swings every day, and it is shocking the
manner in which it continues to sweep many in its wake.
The first senior
politician to have publicly apologized for hurting others while in power was
the late former president Daniel Moi.
In his speech during the Jamhuri Day celebration in 2002, over 20
years ago, he sought forgiveness from those he had hurt during his reign as
well as forgave those who had hurt him.
In 2015, Uhuru Kenyatta, then the President,
offered an apology to Kenyans for atrocities committed against them by past
administrations including massacres, post elections violence and the Moi-era
torture chambers.
Uhuru again apologized for police enforcement
excesses during the Covid-19 period. In the lead up to the elections, raw and
hot words had been exchanged among the protagonists within the two leading
camps; President William Ruto emerged winner of the hotly-contested general
election.
When President Ruto eventually publicly
engaged the Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) supremo Francis Atwoli,
apologies poured forth, most probably for expediency purposes.
In July 2022, the then Kenya Kwanza running mate and now Deputy
President Rigathi Gachagua revealed during a media interview that he had been
humiliated and suffered for refusing to abandon Ruto.
He said this resulted in bitterness as
witnessed in September 2022, when Gachagua was harsh in his inaugural speech as
he accused the outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta of handing over power at a
time when the economy was plummeting and risked collapsing.
"I want to tell the people of Kenya that
today is a great day. Kenya is now a democratic country. It became a crime to
be a friend of William Ruto, you are finally free," Gachagua stated then.
In February 2023, Gachagua sustained the attack against Uhuru,
accusing him of meddling with the affairs of their new administration by allegedly
sponsoring street demos against the high cost of living which were led by opposition
chief Raila Odinga.
Indeed, he insinuated that Kenya was in a big
mess because of Uhuru’s leadership, and he went ahead to caution him to desist
from talking about the affairs in the country and calling the current
government to account.
Gachagua then told Uhuru that “you have no
business telling us what to do!” He went further to say some people were
claiming the Kenya Kwanza administration were not working yet they “tampered
with the economy of the country, looted Kenya’s wealth, and took money out of
our economy...” in a loose reference to Uhuru.
By July 2023, tempers were still frayed as the government withdrew
former First Lady Mama Ngina Kenyatta's security from her homes. Mama Ngina had
her security officers from the General Service Unit and Administration Police
withdrawn without reference to her or any prior notice.
This did not go down well with many observers
who felt the former First Lady was a victim of the fight between the new
administration and his son, Uhuru. Within the same month, Uhuru’s son Jomo had
his home in Karen raided by the police ostensibly to seize his guns. There
ensued a standoff and Uhuru personally led a group in defense of his son at his
home. The case took a legal turn but the matter was eventually settled out of
court.
It was therefore a bit surprising when Gachagua proffered a public
and candid apology to Mama Ngina Kenyatta for dragging her name into the
political feud against her son, the immediate former retired President of
Kenya, Uhuru. It did not end there, he has over the past few weeks consistently
and publicly sought to mend fences with Uhuru who he now calls “our king.”
DP Gachagua said the entire Mt. Kenya region
and himself were misled into demeaning Uhuru and that this “mistake should
never happen again.” In the DP’s own words at a rally in Kimende, Kiambu County;
“Come rain come sunshine, we will never again vilify our king. We came here and
vilified Uhuru Kenyatta. I repented after that. Did I not repent? Did you
forgive me? We will never again vilify the king of the Kikuyu community. Let us
teach our youth never again to be used by anyone to vilify our king. Let us
love each other so that we get our rightful share of the Kenyan cake.”
The bone of contention had been Uhuru’s choice of the opposition
team, Azimio coalition, during the last general election, over the Kenya Kwanza
alliance fronted by Ruto and Gachagua.
Since March 2024, Gachagua took off with a bold political move
that could see him perched high up the pecking order in Mt. Kenya; he has
definitely set his eyes on the heart and soul of the region.
DP Gachagua said, "In 2022, politics had
deteriorated to a deplorable state. There was a regrettable lack of respect,
with insults being hurled at Mama Ngina, and I'm very sorry for that. We humbly
request her forgiveness.”
During a recent media interview, the DP reiterated
that the invasion of their private farm on March 2023, and the consequent
defamation of Uhuru and his wider family, were misguided and a shame to the
community.
He now wants all that was ever said, insinuated
and done to the Kenyattas, forgiven. The Kenyattas still hold sway over the
mountain and DP Gachagua has come to note that he cannot appease the mountain
minus the influence of the Kenyatta family.
On the other hand, a cold fight has broken
out in Kenya Kwanza, with accusations flying left and right, it would only make
sense that his home region be accommodating and sympathetic.
A genuine and heartfelt apology is a balm to open wounds in the
heart caused by vile bile spewed from without. In Kenyan politics, there is
plenty of such and indeed as a politician one must have thick skin to chart the
murky waters and endure the mudslinging.
A genuine apology is supported by action to
rectify the wrong done before. Apology is the mark of maturity and looking at
the bigger picture and not just parochial interests.
On the other hand, an apology in Kenya could
be political rhetoric to appear to be on the right side of events as political
tectonic plates shift. This was put to use aptly by the late former president
Moi, a self-confessed professor of politics, who always knew when the tide
would shift.
However, when he proffered his apologies for
the atrocities committed during his reign, his critics were offended that he
made light use of the apology and yet his reign had seen terrible atrocities
take place without a process to bring justice to all those affected.
How DP Gachagua intends to use his season of
public apologies and reminding his mountain brothers and sisters that they
share the same bonds in thick and thin might yet prove to be a political
master-stroke or making a comfortable bed to lie on should he find himself
isolated from the corridors of power.
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