The President dismissed his DP’s remarks comparing the Kenya Kwanza government to a limited company with shareholders. Mr Gachagua is on record declaring that government appointments and contracts are a preserve of those who voted for Kenya Kwanza
The absence of DP Rigathi Gachagua from President Ruto’s first two days of his working tour of Nyanza last weekend has opened room for speculation about the strained relationship between them. The DP’s absence from the tour is now the second time in a row that he has missed the President’s official function. Analysts now wonder if their relationship is still intact as the DP had claimed earlier when he said that their relationship is top-notch. The DP only showed up in Kisumu to attend a cabinet meeting and at the commissioning of MV Uhuru II.
The President dismissed his DP’s remarks comparing the Kenya Kwanza government to a limited company with shareholders. Mr Gachagua is on record declaring that government appointments and contracts are a preserve of those who voted for Kenya Kwanza.
But contrary to Mr Gachagua’s assurance that all is well between him and his boss, analysts say that it is just a matter of time before the matter plays out in public. His absence during the Nyanza tour was not by chance, it was well planned perhaps to send a strong message to the people of Nyanza that a section of Mount Kenya leaders was not happy about an allocation of Ksh. 1.3 billion intended for Mt. Kenya water projects that were reportedly diverted to other regions to secure political support in areas that did not vote for Kenya Kwanza.
The alleged reallocation and diversion of funds meant for the Mountain region to the Western and Nyanza regions has been a thorn in the flesh of Mr. Gachagua and his allies. The President has, however, played deaf with his continued visit to the two regions, commissioning and launching development projects. Politically speaking, Gachagua believes Ruto and Kenya Kwanza should not direct or initiate projects in Nyanza, which is the traditional political backyard of Raila Odinga. To Gachagua, Ruto’s numerous tours to the Nyanza region will not help him achieve any political goal, as the region is known to vote for Raila.
However, the president, being a political student of the late President Moi and going by the results of the last presidential elections, knows that every vote counts and that by the time Kenyans are back on the ballot in 2027, he hopes that he will have made inroads in Raila’s political backyard by that time. Gachagua, however, sees it differently. Ruto’s development tour to the Nyanza region is, however, causing political furore within the Kenya Kwanza set-up; the majority of Mount Kenya leaders are opposed to the president’s move.
The leaders claim that Ruto got an average of 2% in the four Luo-dominated counties. In Migori County, Raila got 84% while Ruto got 15%; in Homa Bay, Ruto got 0.7% while Raila got 98%; in Kisumu, Raila got 97% while Ruto got 2%; and in Siaya, Ruto got 1% while Raila got 98%.
They claim that in Ruto’s backyard in Uasin Gishu County, Raila got 21% while Ruto got 77%. It is on that basis that Gachagua and his allies believe that Raila should keep off the Nyanza region. Other sources further divulged that following the last cabinet shuffle by the president, Gachagua believes he continues to empower his perceived political competitor, Musalia Mudavadi.
It is an open secret that there is a serious power play between Mudavadi and Gachagua, and the bone of contention is a claim that Ruto is contemplating grooming Mudavadi to be his running mate in 2027 and heir apparent in 2032. This narrative has never gone down well with Gachagua and his allies. Last week’s shuffle, in which Ruto added Mudavadi to the docket of foreign affairs, has caused Gachagua sleepless nights.
Political pundits claim that President Ruto now openly preferres working with Mudavadi while keeping Gachagua at bay. Unconfirmed reports indicate that Ruto never consulted Gachagua over the reshuffle of the cabinet, but he had the courtesy of sharing the list with him before it was released to the media.
Could the honeymoon be over for Ruto and Gachagua? That could be too soon since they just celebrated their first year in office, and any fallout now could put the country on the wrong political path.
