Gachagua bullies Mt Kenya musicians into submission after visit

When former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua threatened a boycott of artistes who last week met Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, he suggested he was doing so on behalf of the community.

He had sat with elders, Gachagua would say, who had told him “to announce that those artistes must apologise and if they don’t, we will stop listening to their music.”

“They should not be invited to the entertainment joints where they perform. Any entertainment joint that invites the artistes, customers should boycott your club and move elsewhere. On social media, you unfollow them,” Gachagua said. His remarks add to the global ‘cancel culture’ trend, which has grown in recent years. It involves pushing for the withdrawal of support for a public figure or brand that one believes to be advocating an unacceptable position.

When driven by persons of influence, such an agenda, especially when pushed for personal reasons, has often attracted criticism of alleged intimidation.

By agreeing to sing the government’s praises and pushing an anti-Gachagua campaign, the former DP sees the artistes as traitors of the community.

Gachagua has tried to cement his influence in the Mount Kenya region and believes he has been successful at that, with his latest message seemingly resonating with his base.

Indeed, the respective artistes have received widespread backlash, and the apologies have been streaming in throughout the weekend. On Monday, a gospel musician who goes by the stage name Ruth wa Mum said she was sorry she had met Prof Kindiki, with whom the artistes discussed a campaign to popularise government projects and discredit Gachagua.

 “My people forgive me. Woiye tigai kunuma ringi, njoherai tu maa (Please don’t insult me again) I am so sorry I did it and I will not do it again I am so sorry, Ngai ndekera onawe tu maa (Forgive me, too, God),” said Ruth wa Mum.

Days earlier, Samuel Muchoki Ndirangu, popularly known as Samidoh, briefly halted a performance at an entertainment joint in Kiambu County as revellers chanted “WanTam,” a slogan that asserts that President William Ruto will only serve a single term in office.

“You have said that I should say it is only one term. Are you the ones telling me to say it? Have I ever gone against your wishes?” Samidoh posed.

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has used the strategy before when he urged the boycott of some firms in separate instances. Amid the anti-government protests in 2023, Raila told his supporters to boycott Safaricom, the Kenya Commercial Bank and Star Newspaper, saying they were “facilitators of the Kenya Kwanza government.”

Gachagua’s remarks may have been popular among his supporters, but they have raised concerns about the former DP being a bully, which have stalked him even before he became DP in 2022. In Gachagua’s world, criticising him or siding with the opponent, as some lawmakers did when they impeached him last October, is a betrayal of the people.

His allies – upon whom he sometimes places impossible demands, such as resigning en masse to force a “mini general election” – are heroes. Gachagua promises that great reward awaits those who will follow the path he points out, he said in an interview on KTN News in February.

“Any leader who makes that decision will be re-elected without a doubt and with a very serious majority. They will be heroes of our people for decades,” said Gachagua.

Like the typical politician, the former DP seeks some degree of influence that will almost make his word unquestionable, the kind that Dr Ruto and Raila enjoy with their allies. And he has, allegedly, pushed this objective strongly, earning a reputation as a “bully” among critics.

“The former deputy president is a bully,” said Mathira MP Eric Wamumbi. “He wants everyone to kneel down before him, which is not possible. He tried that with us and failed terribly. He had tried to intimidate us against talking to the President unless it was through him. He is intimidating musicians the way he did with us.” The Mathira MP said Gachagua’s impeachment owed to his frequent fights with MPs, and blasted him for infringing on the artistes’ rights of association.

“The former Deputy President must know he doesn’t own the people of Mt Kenya. These artistes worked very hard to build their careers. The former DP has previously complained that people were used to fight him and he is doing the same thing,” said Wamumbi.

Mukuruwe-ini MP John Kaguchia defended Gachagua’s rebuke of the artistes, saying the former DP had every right to “express dissatisfaction with others, who were associating on behalf of the community.”

“The musicians interact a lot with the people and know the truth on the ground, where the shoe pinches. One would expect them to tell Kindiki the challenges affecting the ordinary Kenyans and not meet him to tell him they are broke and beg for money.”

Kaguchia, who said the government was the real “bully”, pointed out Kenya Kwanza’s apparent failures, such as “broken-down healthcare and education systems” and the widespread anti-government sentiment he said cannot be wished away.

Political risk analyst Dismas Mokua argued that Gachagua’s remarks were inconsistent with the Constitution as they “assaulted the bill of rights.

“Gachagua’s threats confirm that he is a leader with no capacity to accommodate divergent views. He wants to impose his will on musicians from Mt Kenya. One cannot help but see wafts of dictatorship from Gachagua’s leadership style and philosophy. A reasonable man will conclude that Gachagua is a bully. It is his way or the highway,” said Mokua.