Photos of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua greeting former Prime Minister Raila Odinga went viral on Saturday, May 13, during the funeral of freedom advocate Mukami Kimathi.
In the first photo, Gachagua greeted Raila while standing halfway. In the second photo, Gachagua appeared surprised when President William Ruto smiled while welcoming the former Prime Minister at the funeral in Nyandarua County.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, governance specialist, and political communication strategist, Javas Bigambo indicated that Gachagua was in a dilemma following the arrival of Raila.
Gachagua, he added, was conflicted about whether to stand up and show respect to Raila or to remain seated but still welcome him.
Justifying Gachagua's dilemma, Bigambo explained that Raila had been aggressively throwing political jabs at Gachagua. Their political differences clouded their judgement leading to the awkwardness witnessed.
"Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua greeted Raila first while seated, and then midway through the greeting, he stood up. So it tells you he was caught between standing up and great Raila or sitting. On his part, the President stood up and greeted Raila. That showed the two are not in any superiority contest, " Bigambo stated.
"But for Raila and Rigathi, Remember Raila has not been throwing his political missiles at the President at least not at the aggressive manner he has been directing at Rigathi Gachagua. So Gachagua may be debating whether to extend some respect to Raila Odinga or not," he added.
The governance expert explained Ruto's body language and insisted that it exhumed superiority and control. According to Bigambo, it also evidenced that the two were not keen to play politics at the funeral.
"But the President standing to greet him does not demean him because he is not in any superiority contest with Raila," Bigambo reiterated.
"If you look at Raila's demeanour, there was no particular excitement when greeting Rigathi. When he was greeting the President while smiling showing that he was easy with him and he was not playing politics," he added.
Arriving Late
Raila's late arrival at the meeting elicited mixed reactions, with some critics arguing that he broke and disrupted protocol.
Bigambo indicated that Raila's late arrival was part of his political gimmicks. Defending his opinion, he argued that Raila wanted to grab the attention of Ruto and other dignitaries and the funeral.
However, he reprimanded him for failing to recognise Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, who he neither greeted nor recognised.
"So the issue of Raila arriving when everybody had arrived itself does not show any power. It shows deliberate disruptions, in terms of the attention he is seeking and achieving. Because if he had arrived earlier before the President, he would have chosen to greet him or not," the lawyer told Kenyans.co.ke.
"So that tells you it is a national attention-seeking per excellence on the part of Raila to attend after the President. It also upsets the protocol that's why when the head of protocol was leading Raila, he did not lead him to great Musalia and Deputy President. She was actually leading him to his seat because it is a disruption, and that is why Mudavadi seemed unsettled," he added.
Furthermore, he dismissed claims that Raila was not expected, explaining that he was received and escorted to his seat by the head of protocol. His seat was also reserved in the front row.
He added that the preparations showed that Ruto's head of security and protocol was informed of Ruto's arrival at the funeral.
