Saboti Member of Parliament (MP) Caleb Amisi has offered an explanation to former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua regarding the Orange Democratic Movement’s (ODM) overwhelming support for his impeachment.
In a post shared on X on Monday, October 21, 2024, Amisi linked the impeachment vote to Gachagua’s past behaviour, particularly his verbal attacks on ODM leader Raila Odinga and retired President Uhuru Kenyatta during the campaign period leading to the August 9, 2022, presidential election.
Amisi shared a video clip showing Gachagua speaking to a crowd in Chaka, Nyeri County, where he blamed Raila for bewitching Uhuru and portrayed him as a political villain.
According to Amisi, this speech, and others like it, deeply offended ODM members, and when the opportunity to impeach Gachagua arose, they saw it as a chance for retribution.
“The speech that made #Raila MPs impeach #Gachagua en masse. You were set up by Ruto to abuse Raila and Uhuru, an assignment that you did viciously. That was the start of your downfall. Blame no one else but your inability to detect ‘perception.’ In politics, just like in war, learn to shoot in the air even when ordered to shoot to kill! It is simply a dangerous game! No permanent friend, no permanent enemy!” Amisi wrote.
Amisi also suggested that President William Ruto had deliberately set Gachagua up, knowing that his harsh criticism of Raila and Uhuru would eventually come back to haunt him.
2022 election
Gachagua had led a fierce campaign against Raila and Uhuru, helping deliver the Mt Kenya vote to Ruto, which played a significant role in Ruto’s narrow victory over Raila in the 2022 election.
Ruto won with 7,176,141 votes against Raila’s 6,942,930 – a difference of 233,211 votes or just about one county.
Raila ran on a joint ticket with Martha Karua, who hails from the Mt Kenya region, and they were backed by Uhuru Kenyatta.
In spite of Uhuru’s support, Ruto won Mt Kenya by a landslide thanks to Gachagua’s portrayal of Raila as the region’s bogeyman.
ODM ultimately had its retribution when Gachagua’s impeachment came to Parliament.
He was accused by Parliament of, among other things, promoting ethnically divisive politics when he was expected to be a national unifier.
Gachagua coined the phrase ‘usiguze murima (spelt as mlima)’ which means “don’t touch the mountain”, fashioning himself as a fierce defender of the Mt Kenya region and a gateway to it.
Clips were played during Gachagua’s impeachment proceedings which showed him suggesting that the government would prioritise those areas that had voted for the winning ticket.
Ruto, Raila alliance
The success of Gachagua’s impeachment relied heavily on Ruto’s new alliance with Raila whose MPs and senators voted overwhelmingly to remove the DP from office.
The National Assembly also picked a close associate of Raila, Siaya governor and senior counsel James Orengo, to head its legal team during the impeachment trial at the Senate.
Ruto is now riding on the political backing of Raila whose political bases of Nyanza, Western, Coast and Nairobi have the potential to secure him an easy re-election should their alliance stand strong until 2027.
For now, Ruto has appointed four senior members of Raila’s party to cabinet and is backing him for the influential position of the next African Union Commission (AUC) chairman.
Friends and foes
Ruto and Raila have had a complicated political history, with their alliances and rivalries shifting over the years.
In the 2002 presidential election, Ruto backed Uhuru while Raila supported the late President Mwai Kibaki.
In 2007, Ruto switched sides to support Raila, while Uhuru rallied behind Kibaki in an election that led to nationwide violence and subsequent International Criminal Court (ICC) indictments for both Ruto and Uhuru.
However, in the 2013 and 2017 elections, Ruto and Uhuru ran on a joint ticket, defeating Raila both times.
Now, with Gachagua removed from office and Ruto leaning on Raila’s political support, Kenya’s political landscape has taken another unexpected turn.
Gachagua, whose rise to power was fueled by his attacks on Raila, now finds himself sidelined as Ruto builds a new alliance with his former rival.
And should Gachagua’s impeachment be stayed by the courts, he is barred for a lifetime from ever contesting for a public office in Kenya.
