What willl be left of the Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua after his tendency to court controversy and moves to to portray himself as an individual who is unafraid to speak his mind ends?
Gachagua has been in office for only five months since his inauguration but he has made a million statements that have elicited fury for being unbecoming of his high position. His corruption cases have been dropped and Sh200 million frozen by the retired regime given back to him.
But he still remains unbowed by the criticism and accusations of reducing the stature of the Office of the Deputy President to a tribal corridor. Gachagua still thinks he is unapologetic and resolute in his mission to speak the truth.
He recently sparked outrage after he said the Kenya Kwanza government will only prioritize those who supported it in the 2022 General Election amid a sustained onslaught by allies of the previous regime.
“This government is a company that has shares. There are owners who have the majority of shares, and those with just a few, while others do not have any, therefore those who voted for us and supported us must enjoy the benefits first,” Gachagua said.
Many Kenyans wonder if he will survive re-election in 2027 and be President William Ruto’s running mate again amid fears that he may be dropped for Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi who is more presidential, reserved and from the Luhya community which is also rich in votes.
Political Analyst Javas Bigambo argues that Gachagua’s chances of being part of the ticket will largely depend on how he will balance politics and delivery of services to Kenyans.
But Gachagua believes that he has consolidated enough backing from his Mount Kenya backyard to negotiate with big boys on the political table and make a comeback in 2027.
“He is trying to reduce the space that Ruto was operating in liberally in Mt. Kenya because he knows he is too busy with state management,” Bigambo argued.
![](https://kenyainsights.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/mudavadi-ruto-dec-300x150.webp)
President William Ruto and PCS Musalia Mudavadi sharing light momemnts during a past event [p/courtesy]
It must be noted that President Ruto has never depended on any form of “political crutches” when pursuing his dream while Gachagua’s ascension to being the countries second in command came as a surprise to many in the run up to the August 2022 General Election.
President Ruto sympathized with him after the current Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki bowed out of the race despite making the best cut of a running mate material.
The former Mathira MP has kept an animated profile since becoming the DP as he keeps on veering off from the persona of what is required of a Deputy President to being a crooked street politician.
Although President Ruto has never shown any signs of being uncomfortable with his deputy’s style of politics, chances are hight that he might drop him as he gets into his legacy term.
And Gachagua must be sensing that his crooked method might not work till 2027. Reliable sources reveal that President Ruto has funded the office of PCS Mudavadi well and might pick him over Gachagua as he defends his seat in the coming polls and eventually endorse the former ANC leader to succeed him in 2032.
DP Gachagua has now treats Mudavadi as his sworn enemy as he funds idling politicians like the former Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala to scuttle Mudavadi’s influence in Western region in attempts to consolidate his power ahead of 2027 general elections.
His newfound political friendship with Malala has led to the return of the famous Cleo Malala Super Cup that has increased its coverage to include a total of five counties from the wider Luhya region.
The DP believes that outspoken Malala is the best person to push for his interests in the vote rich Mulembe Nation as recruits a team of Jubilee politicians from Mt. Kenya region to fight his wars and reduce Mudavadi’s chances.
Political pundits like Mutahi Ngunyi believe that President Ruto is most likely to settle on Mudavadi as his running mate during his 2027 reelection bid. This is one reality that has hit Gachagua hard and he is now desperately fumbling with his possible plan B should the president abandon him.
The beef between Gachagua and Mudavadi traces back to days before the last general elections when Gachagua acted wild at the prospect of Ruto considering Mudavadi as his running mate. He instisted that the position had to be filled by a person from Mt. Kenya.
Gachagua got the DP position but Ruto has made him angrier by assigning Mudavadi more roles to overpower the DP in Kenya Kwanza Alliance administration.
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