Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Friday, May 31 explained his move to issue a public apology to former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Speaking during a stopover meeting in Limuru, Gachagua asserted that most of the leaders in the vote-rich region including him, were misled to attack Uhuru Kenyatta.
He acknowledged that it was not wise to attack their leader publicly given that a section of the public also mocked the former President.
Therefore, he noted that it would be wise to apologise to Uhuru to avoid a repeat of the same.
"We were misled, we attacked and shouted down President Uhuru. I requested forgiveness, did you forgive me? Never again will we attack our leader. Do not stab your brother in the back.
"That is why I personally went live on TV and Radio to seek forgiveness from our son Uhuru Kenyatta for attacking him during the campaigns. We acknowledge our mistake. The bad thing would be to repeat the mistake," he stated.
Gachagua detailed that the apology was also necessary given that there were still plans to cause division among the current leaders.
He also cautioned the young leaders from the region not to be used in fueling division in the mountain, noting that the vote-rich region is always the target for people planning to cause division.
However, he did not mention the names of the specific leaders behind the plan to cause disunity in Mt Kenya. Instead, he opted to call upon the leadership to rally behind him in supporting President William Ruto.
The DP has been on a charm offensive to extend an olive branch to Uhuru in recent weeks. This follows cracks that have been witnessed among leaders of the ruling party.
According to the DP, a section of leaders close to Ruto have been behind the plans to cause friction among Mt Kenya leaders. In particular, he took on Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi, who he warned to stay away from Mt Kenya politics.
This was in reference to a splinter group that has been pushing for Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro to succeed Ruto. Other leaders have also suggested that Nyoro should replace Gachagua as Ruto's running mate in 2027.
However, his sentiments did not sit well with Sudi who maintained that he would work with leaders from all regions.
"You cannot control where I go. If we all stayed in our respective constituencies then we would not be in government. We had to fly all over the country to ask Kenyans to elect this government.
"I am not someone you can threaten. I have been threatened enough and this does not move me," Sudi responded.
Uhuru is yet to comment on Gachagua's public apology.
