Before the Truthful Man, Geoffrey Rigathi Gachagua lost the office of the Second in Command by impeachment, he had created some memorable moments.
Some of those moments seemed laughable while others were viewed as acts of courage, but in the end, they were used to bring him down.
With now his future political fate hanging in the balance, here are some of the memorable Gachagua moments in 2024:
Gachagua carrying his luggage
On June 12, 2024, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua made headlines after he stepped out carrying his own luggage and boarding a commercial plane.
In a much-publicised flight, Gachagua was captured on camera walking through the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) alleys, pulling a blue suitcase with no security aides in sight.
Gachagua flew to Mombasa to attend the international scientific conference, where he was the chief guest.
The gesture came days after the then Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale announced that politicians would not be allowed to use Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) aircraft.
Gachagua’s press conference in Mombasa
In June 2024, the former DP Geoffrey Rigathi Gachagua made headlines after he called a press conference in Mombasa immediately after his boss President William Ruto at the height of the anti-Finance Bill 2024 protests.
Gachagua demanded the resignation of National Intelligence Service Director General Noordin Haji. He criticised the NIS boss for failing to provide timely and accurate intelligence regarding public opposition to the Finance Bill 2024.
“President William Ruto would not have pushed the Finance Bill if he had known two months ago that Kenyans were against it. We have an organisation funded by the public to provide such information,” Gachagua stated.
“The intelligence service failed in its duty, and the reason is clear; Noordin Haji is unqualified to lead the organisation, which is why the security sector was unprepared,” he added.
Little did he know that his sentiments would be used to form a basis for his impeachment.
Gachagua’s claim of plans to poison him
On October 20, 2024, Gachagua stepped out of a hospital where he was admitted with a heart condition. He was rushed to hospital minutes before his then-scheduled appearance at the Senate to answer impeachment charges.
Gachagua who missed the session and senators went on to vote on his impeachment claimed at being discharged that there were two attempts to poison him.
He claimed that the first attempt was in Kisumu, where he had accompanied President William Ruto on his Nyanza visit, and that the second attempt was in Nyeri.
“I don’t feel safe. On August 30th undercover cover police agents in Kisumu entered my room and one of them tried to poison my food but we detected it and we were able to escape. I was supposed to be killed through poisoning.”
“On September 3rd in Nyeri, NIS officers came to Nyeri and tried to poison food belonging to me and Kikuyu elders. I reported the matter to NIS and asked the officers assigned to my office to leave. After attempts to assassinate me failed, this impeachment motion was hatched,” Gachagua claimed.
Following his claims, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) summoned him to shed light on what transpired to be with the investigations.
Defending Mt Kenya region
Gachagua has been credited for coining the popular phase ‘usiguse murima‘ which loosely translates to ‘do not touch or interfere with Mt Kenya affairs.’
The phrase gained fame in the country as Gachagua continued to defend his region. While asking a section of political leaders not to interfere with the affairs of the region where he hails, Gachagua also warmly embraced being called a villager.
“Mimi nimeshukuru sana sina mambo mingi…mkinikubalia nirudi Nairobi nikaekae alafu niende kwa Village unajua kila mtu yuko na mahali alitoka na kila mtu ako na kwao. Mombasa ni uwanja wa kutafuta riziki na Nairobi ni uwanja wakutafuta riziki lakini mwisho kabisa si unajua mahali utarud (so I don’t know why anybody should have a problem with where we all come from because somebody comes from somewhere and that is the truth and everybody should be proud of your origin and identity and nobody should ever make you feel embarrassed about your origin and identity),” Gachagua said.
He also urged leaders to use appropriate language to communicate depending on the audience.
“I am speaking English here because some of you may not understand my language…but when I go to the village what business do I have talking to them in English and yet am not a mzungu? Si hiyo itakuwa ni maringo?” he asked.
All along, the Truthful Man rubbed shoulders with some of the leaders even in the Kenya Kwanza Coalition who used his words to crucify him during the impeachment hearing.
For instance, Gachagua did not realize that uttering the words ‘this government is for shareholders’ would land him in trouble.
Impeachment
On October 17, 2024, Gachagua was kicked out of government where he was the second senior official after President Ruto.
This followed the decision by the Senate to uphold the impeachment motion. The required two-thirds of Senators upheld five of the 11 charges that were levelled against Gachagua and agreed to remove him.
“The Senate has resolved to remove from office Deputy President through impeachment and therefore he ceases to hold office,” Speaker Amason Kingi ruled after the final tally.
The vote came on the second day of the hearing of the impeachment trial that was characterised by drama after the Gachagua was taken ill soon after the end of the morning session.
The vote was taken without Gachagua taking the witness stand. He lodged a legal battle challenging his ouster but a three-judge bench lifted a conservatory order that had stopped Kithure Kindiki’s swearing-in ceremony.
