Blogger and President William Ruto’s digital strategist Dennis Itumbi has revealed the finer details of the preparations that happened behind the scenes to prepare Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua to face off with Martha Karua during the deputy presidential debate.
Itumbi disclosed that the Kenya Kwanza alliance team hired a woman to play the role of Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya alliance running mate Martha Karua during rehearsals.
The controversial blogger said the sole responsibility of the woman who they hired to play the role of Martha Karua was to provoke Gachagua so that the team could know how best to manage his reaction ahead of the debate.
“Hustler Nation worked hard. In between the Campaigns, we practised for the debates. Nothing was taken for granted. We even had a ‘Martha Karua’ whose brief was to annoy the then DP candidate
Rigathi. She did her assignment well. She even went barefoot – literally,” Itumbi tweeted.
Hustler Nation worked hard.
— Dennis Itumbi, HSC (@OleItumbi) September 20, 2022
In between the Campaigns, we practiced for the debates
Nothing was taken for granted
We even had a ‘@MarthaKarua‘ whose brief was to annoy the then DP candidate @rigathi
She did her assignment well..she even went barefoot – literally.#memories pic.twitter.com/l3m7Dhc3xW
Karua claimed she outsmarted Gachagua
The deputy presidential debate was held on July 19, 2022, at the Catholic University of EasternAfrica (CUEA) in Karen, Nairobi and was watched by 34 million Kenyans.
Karua in an interview with KBC on Saturday, July 22, 2022, said she outsmarted Gachagua with her well-thought strategy claiming the other team planned to rile her.
She explained that Gachagua tried to get her into a heated exchange but she kept calm.
“They were waiting for me to get angry and start arguing with Gachagua during the debate. They thought they are too smart that they’d trigger me, but I held my cool and they were the ones who are disappointed,” Karua claimed.
Martha says the UDA team had poked her way before the debate alleging that she comes off aggressive.
“They had begun the propaganda by saying that I would go there and become annoyed and start having a heated exchange of words. In the debate, they also tried ways to bring that out.
“If you do not have any agenda, then you will fear being questioned over it. You will want to cause a situation where we are exchanging words,” Karua explained.
Karua maintained that while she was calm to counter Rigathi during the debate, she remained true to herself.
“Those who stated that it was not in my nature are those who are supporting a given political faction. What took me there is to explain our agenda. It was not my first time attending a debate.
“Equally, it was not my first time to be on TV. There are standards for the debate and I followed them. You thought you were smart and could easily rile me up. They are the ones who are now disappointed,” she added.
