Labour CS Alfred Mutua Slams Gachagua Over His Cousins Narrative, Terms it as Disrespectful

by Ken Muthomi on Tuesday, 17 June 2025 - 6:14 pm

A photo collage of the Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Murua and the Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua

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Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua has taken a swipe at the former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua for his now-famous 'Hi Cousins' slogan, noting that this is a divisive and disrespectful narrative.

Speaking during a public gathering on Tuesday, June 17, Mutua claimed that Gachagua is using the slogan, which he labelled as an 'insult,' to politically exploit the region.

Mutua said that Gachagua should immediately issue an apology and further advised Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka to advise Gachagua on the right way to approach and address the people.

"You are calling us cousins as if we are children. I want to tell you that we are not your cousins. They should be told that we are intelligent people and we have our culture. Since when have you heard someone call his in-laws cousins?" Mutua said.

Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua at the 66th Annual General Meeting of the Federation of Kenya Employers on Wednesday, May 28 2025.

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Alfred Mutua

"Even if Kalonzo is humble and fears Gachagua, he should be talking to him and telling him what is right and wrong, because the disrespect Gachagua is showing us now, he used it to claim that we cannot give enough votes," he added.

The sentiments by Mutua come just days after the National Assembly Speaker, Moses Wetangula, claimed that the cousin narrative has the potential to split the country along ethnic lines.

“In Kenya, we have no room for ethnical politics. The other day, I saw along Mombasa Road a leader claiming Kambas are cousins. First, that was a lie. And secondly, those comments have no place in politics. We don’t want a situation where another community feels isolated,” Wetang'ula said.

Speaking in Kitui on June 9, Wetang'ula, who did not directly name Gachagua, claimed that the former DP's political tactics project him as a "man driven by a spirit of bad temper."

Additionally, the speaker warned Kalonzo against his political alliance with Gachagua, stressing that the Wiper leader should not allow anyone to dictate his political affiliations. Wetang'ula claimed that Kalonzo should make a bold move and cross over to President William Ruto's side.

“To my brother Kalonzo, don’t allow anybody to make friends or create enemies for you. Your friends are not necessarily someone’s friends, and your enemies are not someone’s enemies,” Wetangula said.

However, responding to Wetang'ula and other Kenya Kwanza leaders who have recently tried to persuade him to join their side, Kalonzo, in a statement on Sunday, June 15 dismissed report dismissed reports of decamping the opposition.

“This is all diversionary and a poor attempt to divide the United Opposition. I cannot work with or meet up with people with Gen Z blood on their hands, including that of Albert Ojwang. Kenyans know the truth, Mr HalfTam: I will always be on the side of the people,” Kalonzo said.