An open letter to Gachagua and other politicians: You cannot have it both ways

Dear Rigathi Gachagua,

When you were enjoying the trappings of power, dining at the high table of government, and leading the State House praise and worship team, you never seemed to hear the cries of the ordinary wananchi. You defended every government policy with a straight face, silencing critics with statements that painted the Kenya Kwanza administration as the ultimate savior of the people. Yet now, after your impeachment, you suddenly claim to have discovered the suffering of the common Kenyan. Do you really want us to believe you?

Do you want us to believe that government policies, which you fiercely defended as Deputy President, have suddenly turned toxic just because you have been forced to sit at the "wananchi table"? While you were in power, were you living on Jupiter or Mars? Or did it take losing your office for you to finally realize the pain of high taxes, the struggle with the cost of living, and the suffocating weight of bad governance? Where was this "people-centered" Gachagua when Kenyans were crying about punitive taxation, bad government policies , and a collapsing economy?

You recently lamented in an interview Western Kenya has not received its full 30% share of government positions. Yet, for the two years you were in office, you made it your mission to push an agenda that prioritized your own backyard. You championed tribal appointments, defending the lopsided distribution of government opportunities as a "reward" system. Now that you have been kicked out, you are suddenly the voice of the marginalized. Why are you now crying louder than the bereaved? Was the unfairness only visible after you lost power?

But this hypocrisy is not yours alone. To the ODM members who have crossed over to government, do you want us to believe that the very policies you once condemned as oppressive are now perfect simply because you have been offered cabinet positions? When you were in opposition, you told Kenyans that this government was illegitimate, that its policies were anti-people, and that the economic model was a disaster. But now, seated comfortably in government offices, you have found a way to sanitize what you once called rotten.

If bad governance was bad when you were in opposition, it is still bad now that you are in government. If high taxes were unacceptable then, they are unacceptable now. If corruption was evil when you were fighting from the other side, it is still evil now that you are dining at the table of power.

You cannot have it both ways. You cannot expect Kenyans to believe that your change of tune is genuine when it is clear that your loyalty is not to the people, but to your personal interests.

So, dear leaders, stop the hypocrisy. Kenyans are not fools. We see through the theatrics. We know that your sudden change of heart is not about us but about your own survival. The same way you have switched positions for convenience, you will do it again when the tides change. But remember, the people are watching. And history will judge you accordingly.