Greetings, Geoffrey Rigathi Gachagua, from the undulating hills and valleys of the lush green Kamukuywa. The people here, just like millions across the country, have been listening to you shouting from Wamunyoro—the mountaintop, literally.
They have noted your apparent remarkable transformation from the Saul of Karen to the Paul of Wamunyoro. They have carefully listened to your articulate political anecdotes and have been left wondering, “eh!, eh!, eeeh!.”
Perhaps shaped by you literature background and a blend of folk wisdom, you’re a superb storyteller. You know too well where to strike a chord with your audience. You leave them in stitches whether you’re telling the people of Mulembe land about President William Ruto’s musangalile (are you happy) charm or narrating to Murima people how Dr Ruto knows every road in the country.
Kenyans like tales, juicy tales. You have not disappointed since you left Karen, kicking and screaming. We are anxiously awaiting the spilling of more beans on the shenanigans and intricacies within the corridors of power. Your stint in the sanctums of power and your self-declared truthful man status makes you plausible to your followers.
However many others, me included, listen to your tales with a pinch of salt. One does not need an elephant’s memory to objectively compare and contrast the Gachagua of Karen and the Gachagua of Wamunyoro. Both men proclaim truth even if the issues addressed are contradictory. Isn’t truth absolute?
If one is a truthful man, he does not alter the truth to fit certain circumstances. He is not influenced by personal feelings or biases and his truth applies everywhere at all times. Mr Gachagua, are you that kind of man? Methinks the Gachagua of Karen and the Gachagua of Wamunyoro are like day and night.
The Gachagua of Karen was an abrasive man who even assigned himself State House watchman role to keep away undesirable individuals from the seat of power. He perceived government as a limited company where individuals with more shares benefit more. Though a national leader, he operated more like a community chieftain.
The Gachagua of Wamunyoro is quite humble and amiable. He has suddenly realised that Kenya is much more than the murima community and has widely spread his political tentacles to embrace and encourage other communities. He says the tale about shares in government was not his idea but was simply handed to him by the President to amplify. Can a truthful man confidently preach what he doesn’t believe in?
In essence, Mr Gachagua, your dual personality depicts a man who is not even truthful to himself. Even your constant declaration that you are truthful man evokes suspicion.
A truthful man’s perception of issues and personalities does not change overnight. Mr Gachagua, your perceptions have dramatically changed. And it doesn’t matter whether on the mighty like Ruto or on the mysterious like Farouk Kibet.
The Ruto that you protected and painted in glowing colours has suddenly become “a very evil man”. From your Karen perch, you saw a god-sent man bent on reviving the economy through sound economic policies. From your Wamunyoro fireside, you see a corrupt man to the core. A man who takes the slightest opportunity to plunder the nation and further impoverish Kenyans. In both occasions, you wore a truthful man’s cap. As deputy president, you hailed Farouk as an astute political genius who played a great role in Kenya Kwanza’s victory. In your own words, you admired his way of doing things untill you approached the President to lend you Farouk. He told you to look for your own Farouk. As impeached DP and again in your own words, Farouk is a Standard Six dropout who wanted to harass you but you had no time for him.
Mr Gachagua, on a more serious issue affecting millions of Kenyans, you were a fervent supporter of the Affordable Housing Project while the political sun shone on you brightly. You hailed its prospect in job creation, business opportunities and improvement of housing projects for citizens. In your political wilderness in Wamunyoro, the housing project is suddenly a den of corruption aimed at giving tenders to Ruto’s cronies.
You supported the Finance Bill 2023, which introduced measures such as 3 per cent Housing Levy and increased Value Added Tax from 8 per cent to 16 per cent. You said taxes are critical for national development. Today, you now see in Ruto a terrible Zakayo and you have reinvented yourself as a protector of people from oppressive taxes.
A litany of contradictions hovers around you and this deals a mortal blow to your self-awarded ‘truthful man’ reputation. It puts your credibility at stake even as you continue inundating us with ‘Wamunyoro Leaks’.
Ironically, the more you drop the bombshells, the more you shatter your own reputation as a truthful man. Not only were you a witness to the conspiracies that you allude to but also an active participant in the spirit of collective responsibility. You kept quiet when it mattered.
Mr Gachagua, convince me and other Kenyans that your new-found role as a man of the people is out of magnanimity and not sour grapes.