Mathira Member of Parliament (MP) Rigathi Gachagua has contradicted Deputy President William Ruto's stand on the route he would take to get the presidency in the 2022 General Election.
Speaking during an interview with a local media station on Monday, August 30, Gachagua insisted that Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria and Former Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri would form the government with the DP while retaining their parties.
Gachagua affirmed that Kuria and Kiunjuri all support Ruto's presidential bid in 2022 but only differ on the strategy used to get to the State House.
"It is only that we are having some difference in opinion in terms of strategy. How do we win this presidential vote for William Ruto? Do we go the UDA way all of us, or do we get small parties and get into a coalition?" he added.
The Mathira legislator disclosed that there are continuous engagements and ongoing discussions on how they can rope in the two in line with the main goal.
He disclosed that he and 40 other MPs had interests in joining UDA which he described as the party for the Mount Kenya region as well as a national party.
Gachagua emphasized that the party's Secretary-General Veronica Maina, Juja MP Njuguna Wanjiku and several members of the county assemblies are all from the mountain.
In addition, he stated that there were no plans whatsoever to fold Moses Kuria's Chama Cha Kazi Party or Kiunjuri's The Service Party explaining that UDA encourages multi-partyism.
The Mathira MP's tone appeared to have changed the firm position he and the DP had previously taken - accusing Kuria and Kiunjuri of advancing a tribal agenda.
The two leaders pushed for the mountain to have its own political parties which would then form a coalition with the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) affiliated with DP Ruto.
Kuria and Kiunjuri have been calling for the unity of leaders from the mountain in a bid to solidify the region’s vote.
Instead, Ruto has always insisted that all other parties dissolve and join UDA, which he defines as a national party.
On August 8, Kiunjuri disagreed with the DP stating that no party could deem itself a national party without first being a regional party. He also insisted that forming political coalitions would best guarantee victory in the 2022 election.
"Anybody who is dreaming somewhere that parties should be dissolved, Please forget it. In this country you can not do without coalitions," the former Agriculture CS said in a statement directed at the deputy president.
