Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua revealed that former President Mwai Kibaki advised him on how to run a successful business by giving him a book during a visit to his office during his campus days.
Gachagua, speaking during the 2nd Mwai Kibaki Memorial Lecture and Luncheon at the Serena Hotel on Friday, April 2, shed light on Kibaki’s impact on his successful business empire through the gift.
The former DP noted that he had sought an audience with Kibaki, who was then the Vice President, while Gachagua was a student leader at the University of Nairobi, in an attempt to get assistance from Kibaki to achieve his dream of running a successful business.
“I went to see Mwai Kibaki in 1988. I was a student leader at UON, I was the chairman of the Nyeri University Student Association, and through my then MP, I sought an appointment to see the Vice President (Kibaki). I went to his office in Jogoo House. We had a lot of discussions and he asked me what my ambitions were,” Gachagua stated.
“I told him I was interested in business. I had thought he would give me some money to start the business. Not Mwai Kibaki. He went to his shelf behind him, which had many books, looked through it, then produced one book and gave it to me. The book was by Jonathan Black and was titled Oil. He (Kibaki) said, ‘If you want to do business, go and read this book and you will be a good businessman.’ That was his mentorship, and today I am a good businessman,” he added.
The former DP holds a degree in Political Science and Literature from UON, which was infamous for being a breeding ground for politicians during the 80s and 90s. Gachagua was a notable beneficiary of this, as he later became a District Officer in the Provincial Administration.
Gachagua further credited Kibaki for an exemplary development record, contrasting it to current President William Ruto’s, which he termed a massive downgrade.
He particularly highlighted Kibaki’s economic policies that he described as sound and ones that spurred development. The former DP mentioned that taxes in Kibaki’s regime reflected in the development record, a stark contrast to taxes in the current regime, which he described as exploitative.
“Kenyans do not have a problem paying taxes, they only have a problem when they can not see where the money is going. We want to ask our brothers in government to know that Kenyans are not complaining about over taxation, they have a problem paying taxes that are misappropriated,” he remarked.
“Kibaki is a living testimony that Kenyans are willing to pay taxes, but they want to see a corresponding service,” Gachagua added.
While delivering his address, Gachagua also waded into the debate surrounding Butere Girls High School and their performance of their controversial ‘Echoes of War’ play.
He attributed the alleged mistreatment of students in Nakuru to a breakdown of the country's intelligence system. Gachagua hit out at the National Intelligence Service Director General Noordin Haji for allegedly failing to prevent the intimidation of the learners.
