Political analyst Professor Peter Kagwanja on Wednesday speculated on the possible reason behind the rumoured rift between President William Ruto and his deputy Rigathi Gachagua.
In his opinion, Prof Kagwanja explained that Gachagua had outlived his purpose in the Kenya Kwanza camp 16 months after the August 2022 General Election.
He alleged that the DP was appointed to scuttle the progress made by former President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Jubilee Party in Mount Kenya, a job Kagwanja claimed Gachagua did to perfection.
“The purpose for which he was appointed is over. He has done his round, we wanted to knock out Uhuru Kenyatta and he was the man to do the job. Jubilee is a hollow party because it used to have 170 plus seats, today it has not more than 28. He did a clean job of finishing Uhuru Kenyatta” Prof Kagwanja opined.
Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV, the political analyst opined that time is rife for peacemaking and the president is basically assembling peacemakers and writing off warriors.
Kagwanja’s comments came a week after the second in command failed to attend important state functions and activities in a government he said he was a major shareholder.
Professor Macharia Munene, in the same interview said the DP was desperate because his expectations had not been met after ascending into the presidency alongside Ruto.
Munene claimed that Gachagua expected his boss to publically recognise him as the Mount Kenya kingpin but that did not happen.
“He feels it, he is desperate. From the day he was sworn in as deputy president, he appeared to be on a mission to be declared the leader of the mountain and he did everything possible to be declared, that has been very elusive to him and as things were going wrong, he appeared to be desperate,” Munene opined.
Former East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA) Member of Parliament Mumbi Ng’aru said the situation has been happening to his predecessors and he should have been more careful to avoid falling prey to the same political tricks.
The DP skipped over 10 key state functions with no activity on his social media accounts. This contrasted sharply with his previous preference of shutting down rumours whenever speculation of a feude between him and his boss arose.
Explaining his absence during a burial on Tuesday however, Gachagua stated that he had retreated to Mount Kenya to pray, fast, reflect and meditate.
“I had taken seven days away for prayers, fasting, meditation, and no phones and nobody could disturb me. I had to meditate on the State of the Nation and the welfare of this region,” he said.
Gachagua reassured Kenyans and the GEMA community of his commitment to push for the region's interests and urged other leaders from Mt. Kenya to follow his lead.
