Gachagua imposing self on the region, Mwangi Kiunjuri says

Laikipia East MP Mwangi Kiunjuri has accused former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua of imposing himself as Mt Kenya’s region leader. According to Kiunjuri, Gachagua’s insistence that only leaders from his Democracy for Citizens Party should be elected in the region points to a leader who wants to ‘appoint’ leaders who shall represent the people.

Speaking on Inooro TV on Wednesday, The Service Party (TSP) party leader took a swipe at Gachagua for using unkind words against leaders and described him as a hypocrite, given that he campaigned for them in the 2022 General Election.

“He stood on top of his vehicle to campaign for the very same leaders he is now de-campaigning; he also asked the electorate not to vote for any leader outside the United Democratic Alliance,” Kiunjuri said.

Last week, Gachagua admonished the leadership of the Mt Kenya region for their unconditional loyalty to President William Ruto.

Speaking at AIPCA Gatumbi Church in Lari Constituency, Kiambu County, on Sunday, Gachagua criticised the leaders for following the President blindly.

“When the history of this community is written, MPs from this community will have a whole chapter.

“You are an embarrassment to the people of this region. And I cannot fathom just how stupid a leader can be. It is very embarrassing to us as a people, as a community,” Gachagua claimed.

According to Kiunjuri, he had advocated for a regional party in 2022, a move he claimed made President William Ruto deny him the chance of becoming his running mate after refusing to fold his party, a position Gachagua campaigned against.

“On February 2022, Ruto invited Bonny Khalwale, Salim Mvurya, Kiphchumba Murkomen, Josephat Nanok, Johnstone Muthama, Aaron Cheruiyot, Hassan Omar, Gachagua, and me and prevailed upon me to drop my party so that he could pick me as his running mate.”

He claimed that Omar, Nanok, Khalwale, and Muthama told him they had left ODM, Ford Kenya, and Wiper parties, respectively, and that he had no business clinging to his TSP party.

“I insisted I had no intention of folding my party. I reminded Ruto about his fallout with his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta and why he regretted folding his URP party.

‘‘But because Gachagua had declared he would be a ‘Yes Sir man’, he was picked to deputise Ruto,” the MP added.

At the same time, Kiunjuri maintained that Gachagua’s push for a regional party was to safeguard his interests by entrenching himself like ODM leader Raila Odinga to sway the region.

“Now that he has formed his party, he wants to assume he is the most knowledgeable person, and all other party leaders from the region are not as wise as he is, branding their parties pro-Ruto. He now wants to assume PLP, Jubilee, and PNU, among others, are UDA affiliates, which is misleading.

“The TNA and URP waves in Mt Kenya and Rift Valley dealt a blow to the old guards in politics; political parties should be allowed to thrive rather than being killed, as nominations are one of the most unfair processes in regions where there is a wave, and tickets are sold to the highest bidders,” Kiunjuri said.

While responding to Gachagua’s claims that MPs allied to the President ‘‘kept low as the President sidelined the Mt Kenya region regarding employment opportunities’’, Kiunjuri termed the claims baseless.

“Gachagua should tell us where he took the 360 slots for teachers and 260 slots for police officers which he had been allocated,” he claimed.