Fresh from a handshake from the region’s kingpin Raila Odinga, President William Ruto may have gone to Luo Nyanza to reap political capital but the biggest winner of the four-day tour was surprisingly his Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
Much to the amazement of political pundits and observers, Rigathi Gachagua received the warmest reception from the people of Nyanza much to the chagrin of President Ruto’s handlers who are now groping in the dark to find the answers.
Some of President Ruto’s close confidants like Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichungwa tried to attack the DP during the tour but the charged crowd ignored the feeble attempts and appeared to embrace the DP, cheering him in unexpected show of warmth.
Others have gone to an extend of blaming Rigathi’s apparent popularity during the Nyanza tour on unexplained underhand political maneuvers by surprise or all surprises – Raila Odinga.
And emboldened by his newfound popularity the self-declared Mt Kenya kingpin was in Meru on Sunday where he declared that the hostility between Mt Kenya and Luo Nyanza was now a thing of the past and that the two regions will henceforth move forward as friends.
Gachagua announced that he will continue to look for more friends across the country saying Mt Kenya was being wooed everywhere he goes.
“Former President Uhuru told us Raila is a good man, but we disagreed with him. Then Deputy President Ruto came here (Mt Kenya) and told us that Raila is bad, and we agreed with him. Now as President, Ruto has told us Raila is a good man. Uhuru had told us earlier that Raila is good. We cannot be stupid. We must now agree with what Uhuru our son and our leader had told us,” said Gachagua in Meru.
He said even strong leaders like former Governor Kiraitu were rejected by people not because they were bad or offered bad leadership but just because they had believed what Uhuru had told them and which we now believe is true.
Gachagua said he was amazed at the great reception that the people of Nyanza gave him and the president saying the two regions must work together now and in the future.
The DP who has earlier vowed not to allow a handshake between President Ruto and Raila Odinga said that he now agrees with retired President Uhuru that Raila is a good man after President Ruto also told him that the former Prime Minister meant well.
He said the two presidents cannot be wrong and therefore he has no problem working with Raila and urged the two regions to protect their newfound friendship.
Gachagua’s political star seems to keep on rising in spite of the many traps that his detractors set for him including accusing him of sabotaging President Ruto.
An impeachment motion against him was dropped in a huff after it became apparent that the self-declared truthful man was too popular on the ground and such a political move would boomerang on President Ruto.
He had been accused of funding Gen Z protests that nearly brought down President Ruto’s government that forced the firing of all Cabinet Secretaries and creation of the new Broad-based Government that saw members of Raila’s ODM party join government as CSs.
