Kuria Sparks Impeachment Speculation Against DP Gachagua Amid Central Kenya Political Storm

Source: Capital FM Kenya
Author: Laban Wanambisi

NAIROBI, Kenya, June 16 - Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has ignited speculation about a potential plot to impeach Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua in a raging political storm in Central Kenya.

In a tweet on Saturday, Kuria hinted at an imminent impeachment and shared a clip where DP Gachagua mocked him for arriving late at a State House event in Nairobi in August 2023.

The tweet, titled "Mungu Nifunze Kunyamaza" (God teach me to be quiet), followed Gachagua's address in Kirinyaga, where he claimed some leaders had formed a WhatsApp group named Project 22 to orchestrate his removal.

Gachagua revealed that Ruto's close allies, including politicians and bloggers, have been pushing an agenda to undermine him. "The problem you are seeing now is because some people who are friends with the President want to be my bosses. These people, including PAs and bloggers, want to tell me what to do," said Gachagua. He emphasized that only President Ruto and the people of Kenya, who voted for them, could direct his actions.

The DP suggested that those trying to eject him from office were still harboring resentment from his selection as Ruto's running mate in the August 2022 General Election. "Now they are trying to incite other leaders against me through a group called Project 22 by convincing them that I am a bad person. They campaigned against me, but the President chose me to help him run the affairs of this country, but some of these people have never moved on, and they have now regrouped to strike back," he said.

Gachagua recounted how some politicians visited the President's Karen residence to convince him to choose another running mate. "When Ruto was looking for a running mate, he had many choices. There was a small group that was saying that if he made me his deputy, he would fail," the DP narrated.

This renewed onslaught comes a week after President Ruto used the Akorinu Prayer Conference in Nakuru to address the widening rift. He reaffirmed that he chose Gachagua as his running mate despite opposition from Mt. Kenya MPs. "Ahead of the 2022 polls, I called these MPs and asked them to help in picking my deputy. They directed me towards youthful candidates, but I told them no, let me settle on Gachagua. It was because I saw that Gachagua was my age mate who we could work well with," he said.

The President's remarks came days after Kimilili lawmaker Didmus Barasa accused Gachagua of betraying President Ruto's government by siding with his opponents in pushing for the One Man, One Vote, One Shilling revenue-sharing formula.

Ruto has been under pressure to honor his earlier commitment to protect Gachagua from similar mistreatment he faced while serving as deputy president. This comes after key allies, including Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi, engaged in a fierce exchange of words with Gachagua and leaders from the Rift Valley and Mt. Kenya regions.

Gachagua sparked the controversy by accusing Rift Valley leaders close to Ruto of causing a rift in the Mt. Kenya region. He urged these leaders to focus on their region's politics, adding that they will never choose leaders for Mt. Kenya.

In response, Sudi warned that he could not be cowed by the second-in-command and stated that he would not cease holding fundraisers anywhere in the country, a practice he inherited from President Ruto.