Why Gachagua stayed away from Raila's emotional farewell, burial

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, known to take no prisoners, has been uncharacteristically silent, prompting foes and friends to wonder where he has disappeared to since the death of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Other than posting the condolence message he shared on his social media platforms, the vocal former Deputy President has kept a low profile and maintained a studious silence that has unnerved his critics.

Last Thursday, Gachagua did not show up at Kasarani Stadium where Raila’s remains were taken after arriving from India to give leaders an opportunity to pay their respects. He did not go to the National Assembly nor to Nyayo Stadium where Raila’s body lay in State to pay him the last respects.

The Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) leader did not attend Raila’s burial ceremony in Bondo, a move that elicited mixed reactions from pro-government leaders who felt his condolence message was not enough, as he needed to appear in person to mourn the fallen hero.

In his condolence message posted on October 15, Gachagua described Raila as an enigma, the father of democracy, and a formidable hero of Kenya’s second liberation, hailing him for “standing tall and strong in intellect, knowledge, and quest for democracy.”

“You faced brutal regimes’ brutality; you were tortured, jailed, abducted, and detained severally for Kenya. When the history of Africa’s Pan-Africanism is written, your chapter as the indefatigable lion of Africa will attract many readers. You dedicated your life to the service of humanity—as a political activist, a civil servant, a university lecturer, an MP, a party leader, a cabinet minister, a prime minister, and in many other fronts. On all these, your trail of success and impact remains indelible,” Gachagua wrote.

While admitting that they had not been on the same political side, Gachagua said he had strong admiration for Raila’s art of forming and sustaining a strong political party that survived four general elections, adding that he remained amazed by Raila's choice of quality legislators to fly the party flag and eloquently articulate party policies and the people they represented.

“Kenyans will not only remember your craft in resilience, persistence, and democratic values in days to come, but also your voice during difficult moments. You are a hero celebrated home and away; you have not gone, Raila, you have just faded away,” he wrote in his Facebook post.

However, despite the praises, Gachagua gave Raila’s burial a wide berth in what his close associates now maintain was a strategy to avert hostilities and chaos from a polarized political climate days before Raila’s death.

According to Gachagua’s allies, the press release by the ODM party on October 5 accusing Gachagua and opposition figures of “mudslinging Raila's name to erode mass support for the ruling administration and using his health for political expediency” polarized the ground—a move that could have led to hostility towards Gachagua had he attended the State funeral in Nyayo or the burial in Bondo.

A day after the ODM press release, a section of ODM legislators led by Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga, who is also the ODM national chairperson, converged in Siaya to accuse Gachagua of exploiting Raila’s health for political gains.

“Raila cannot be his agenda if he wants to rule this country. Can he tell Kenyans what he wants to do for this country? Talking about Raila’s ill health… who told him Raila is sick? Raila is the glue that holds this country together. Without Raila, this country would not have been peaceful as it is today,” Kisumu West MP Rosa Buyu said.

Gachagua later responded and reprimanded the ODM leaders, claiming that neither Kalonzo nor he were the causes of Raila's sickness, and cheekily wondered whether the Wiper leader was a bacteria or a virus.

“Nimeona jana watu ya ODM wakileta upuuzi. Ati huyo mzee wao ako na matatizo. Sasa wanataka kuekelea Kalonzo na mimi. Kalonzo ni virus, yeye ni bacteria, sasa mambo ya ugonjwa na Kalonzo anatokea wapi? Sisi tunatakia huyo mzee mema. Tunataka wakuwe pamoja na Ruto kwa debe 2027 tuwafukuze wote,” he posed during a Ukambani tour on October 6.

That is loosely translated to mean: “I have seen ODM leaders speaking nonsense, that their leader has issues and now they want to drag Kalonzo and me. Is Kalonzo a virus? Is he bacteria? How do we come in on the issue of a disease? We want the best for Raila. We want him to stay with Ruto up to the 2027 polls so that we send both of them home.”

Sources now say the politicization of Raila’s health before his death contributed to Gachagua missing his burial ceremony, as there were fears that some of Raila’s supporters could have been rallied to target him.

“There were plans by some overzealous ODM leaders to sponsor violence in case Gachagua went to Kasarani, Nyayo, Bunge, or even Bondo to mourn Raila. That is why he decided to mourn Raila in silence—to avert claims that he was out to disrupt the State funeral,” a source within Gachagua’s circles who requested anonymity said.

He added, “Raila’s death also coincided with Gachagua’s impeachment on October 17 last year, and this was his first anniversary since he was impeached. He too was commemorating the death of his career.”

Former Agriculture Minister and member of the United Opposition, Kipruto Arap Kirwa, said Gachagua was right not to attend Raila’s burial as he would have faced a lot of backlash due to his past relationship with Raila.

“It would have been almost a backlash on him had he gone to Nyayo Stadium. You see, the way Uhuru was received is not because of what he said after Raila passed on—it is because of the history they had with Raila. The fact that he himself went out of his way to campaign for the leader of the official opposition and leave his own Deputy President demonstrated that he was genuine to Raila,” Kirwa said.

He said he would advise Gachagua to choose another day and privately visit Raila’s home to take his condolence message.

Gachagua’s allies maintained that he opted to mourn in silence, which they said was evident because he cancelled all his political activities in honour of Raila, even as they dismissed claims that he did not mourn the ODM leader.

“He chose to mourn in silence by respecting the life and times of our departed leader Raila by suspending all his political activities,” Nyandarua Senator John Methu said.

His Murang’a counterpart Joe Nyutu added, “People mourn differently. Gachagua chose to mourn in silence, and that is why we have not heard from him—because he too is grieving the death of Raila.”

Kiambu Senator Karungo Thangwa maintained that Gachagua’s absence from Raila’s farewell “was not an act of defiance, weakness, or guilt but a deliberate show of statesmanship, emotional intelligence, and deep respect for a moment that was bigger than politics.”

However, former Raila chief of protocol Tony Gachoka differed, saying that Gachagua’s failure to attend Raila’s farewell was a failure of leadership, as it was a national gathering.

“Kenya’s political class put aside its differences to honour the man who defined the country’s democratic struggle. For a leader who has never shied away from the spotlight to miss, the silence was deafening,” said Gachoka.

“The burial of Raila Odinga was a wake-up call where the whole country converged together, because sometimes in death you bring unity—which is a litmus test for the nation,” he added.

But Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo claimed that Gachagua’s utterances also forced leaders from the Mt. Kenya region to skip Raila’s farewell events, saying there was fear that sympathizing too much with Raila’s death would cost them re-election.

“Some of the utterances by the former Deputy President and people like Governor Mutahi Kahiga, who tried to balkanize the Kikuyu as a tribe, made it such that if you were seen sympathizing too much with Raila’s death or attending his funeral, your electorate would mark you out. I believe it is that fear that kept many of them away,” Amollo said.

The back-and-forth has seen a section of ODM leaders issue a stern warning to Gachagua against visiting Raila’s home in Bondo, Siaya County.

Speaking to reporters in Kisumu on Wednesday, ODM Kisumu Deputy Chairperson Seth Kanga, who also doubles as Assembly Whip, said the party would not welcome Gachagua’s planned visit to the Nyanza region over what he termed as “unfriendly sentiments” towards ODM and its leadership.

“We heard that Gachagua and his team plan to visit the home of our party leader, the late Raila. We are urging him—please, don’t step in Bondo,” Kanga stated.