By The Weekly Vision Team
A rift between President William Ruto and his deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, is becoming increasingly obvious, despite earlier attempts to conceal it. In public, the two appear to maintain an image of unity and harmony, yet privately, their relationship seems to have soured. The fallout was clear last month when President Ruto graced a gathering in Nyeri County, where his DP’s absence was conspicuous. The DP was spotted miles away at a funeral in Nyandarua County.
Analysts are struggling to comprehend why the DP decided to attend a funeral rather than accord priority to his boss’s visit to his home county of Nyeri. Sources say that Mr Gachagua opted to skip the president’s event in Nyeri County as a result of the public apology he had extended to Mama Ngina Kenyatta and the wider Kenyatta family. The apology seems to have caught the president off-guard. The president’s inner circles argue that the DP should have alerted the president before he went public with the apology.
Additionally, it has been claimed that Gachagua failed to seek Ruto’s approval before issuing the apology, and just like the rest of Kenyans; President Ruto only became aware of the apology through the media, according to insiders. Pundits now wonder why Gachagua’s apology was specifically made on Kameme FM, a radio station owned by the Kenyatta family. According to them, Mr Gachagua made a mistake by apologizing to Mama Ngina and the Kenyatta family, as it inadvertently implied that Kenya Kwanza had made a serious error by targeting the Kenyatta family during the 2022 campaigns.
It has also emerged that DP Gachagua’s appointment as William Ruto’s running mate just before the last election was not primarily due to his popularity but to his financial muscle. He stood out when he financed UDA party campaigns across the Mount Kenya region. Reports suggest that while William Ruto spent a considerable fortune in the area, Gachagua also made substantial financial contributions to support the UDA campaigns.
Following the disagreement between William Ruto and then president Uhuru Kenyatta in the run-up to the last general elections, the UDA party came up with a strategy to reduce Uhuru’s political sway within the Mount Kenya region. William Ruto identified Mr Gachagua as the only person from the region who could effectively counter the Kenyatta family with their financial might. He was chosen as Ruto’s running mate based on his substantial financial strength and ability to effectively challenge the Kenyatta family’s control of the Mount Kenya region.
Reliable sources indicate that DP Gachagua’s recent statement to coffee farmers concerning taxation through the finance bill, which received an overwhelming endorsement from Mount Kenya leaders at the time, seems to have severe implications for the farmers. Sources say the ground has become hostile to Mr Gachagua and UDA MPs from their supporters from the mountain region, who now squarely blame them for having passed the finance bill. To contain the situation, DP Gachagua had to humble himself by publicly stating that they would reconsider the bill and its tax implications for the farmers.
It has also been reported that President Ruto was not pleased with the sudden announcement made on the roadside by his deputy challenging a decision made collectively by the cabinet. By insinuating to his supporters that there would be a reassessment of the taxation, he was viewed as betraying the president. Sources say that DP Gachagua’s motive for showing empathy towards the coffee farmers was to expose President Ruto’s alleged disregard for their concerns. There is speculation that the DP deliberately chose to boycott the Nyeri event as a means to convey his discontent with his boss.
