Ruto reveals why he picked Gachagua over Kindiki ahead of 2022 elections
President William Ruto on Monday, March 31, 2025, revealed intricate details as to why he settled on Rigathi Gachagua as his running mate ahead of the 2022 General Election.
Speaking during a media interview at Sagana State Lodge ahead of his highly anticipated Mt Kenya tour, the head of state disclosed that he was the one who picked Gachagua despite lawmakers from the Mt Kenya region overwhelmingly backing his current deputy, Kithure Kindiki.
According to Ruto, Kindiki garnered 27 votes while Gachagua came distant behind with only five votes during a voting session, which was held at his then Karen residence.
“I am the one who nominated Rigathi Gachagua. He was not voted; I nominated him. I nominated him with my one vote. Even after I nominated Gachagua, we sat down with people from Mt Kenya region and discussed it in detail.
“I asked the lawmakers from Mt Kenya region to pick one person to deputise me ahead of the polls. They talked in my office at Karen till 4 am and then requested to vote. Kindiki got 27 votes while Rigathi got 5,” Ruto stated.
Age factor
However, after the poll results came back, Ruto requested the MPs to give him time to think about it. However, after deep introspection, Ruto fronted Gachagua due to the age factor.
Justifying the move, he noted that he was constantly accused of hanging around youthful lawmakers, and Kindiki was in that same age bracket, so he went for Gachagua, who was a bit older.
“When they brought the poll results, I asked them to give me time to think about it. After deep introspection, I told them people from Mt Kenya had accused me of surrounding myself with young leaders like Ichung’wah and Ndindi Nyoro. I decided to pick Gachagua because he was a bit older,” Ruto disclosed.
