Gachagua is repeating mistakes that led to his impeachment
Leonard Khafafa
By
Leonard Khafafa
| Jan 20, 2026
The legend of Icarus tells of a young man who escapes imprisonment with his father, Daedalus, using wings made of feathers and wax. Before they fly, Daedalus cautions Icarus not to fly too close to the sun as it could destroy the wings. Overcome by excitement and pride, Icarus ignores the warning and soars higher and higher until the sun melts the wax. His wings fall apart, Icarus plunges into the sea and drowns, making the cautionary tale about the dangers of arrogance, disobedience and ignoring wise counsel.
If any contemporary politician invites comparison with Icarus, it is Rigathi Gachagua. Hounded, arrested and detained in police cells under the Jubilee administration, he defied formidable odds to ascend to the office of Kenya’s second deputy president (DP). Yet even as he approached the election that secured him the post, his reputation for hauteur was already evident. Most members of the Kenya Kwanza coalition charged with selecting William Ruto’s running mate favoured another candidate. Mr Gachagua nevertheless prevailed, less by broad assent than by force of will and bluster.
The former DP is, in large measure, the author of his own downfall. His impeachment bears the hallmarks of a profound rupture with Dr Ruto, the man who once elevated him. The acrimony that now suffuses Gachagua’s public utterances, often directed squarely at the President, betrays a rift that appears unlikely to be mended before the next general election. From his travails, several instructive lessons emerge.
Final misstep
First, the DP is, by design, the President’s principal assistant. Although elected on a joint ticket, he is not the President’s equal in authority or power. His remit is confined to functions expressly assigned by the Constitution and to such additional duties as the President may delegate.
Gachagua appears to have overlooked this distinction. He behaved as though he were in charge of the country, issuing edicts, including an extraordinary attempt to bar former prime minister Raila Odinga from State House. The final misstep may have come with a breach of protocol; addressing the nation after the President on the Gen Z protests of 2024.
A second lesson is the polarising force of his ethnic nationalism. Gachagua initially suggested that government offices and patronage were the preserve of “shareholders,” a thinly veiled reference to his own ethnic constituency. More recently, he has argued that national schools in the Mt Kenya region should be reserved for those of his ethnic stock. In doing so, he has alienated a substantial swathe of the national electorate, seemingly sabotaging his own presidential ambitions.
Third is the perception of his frugality. For a time, Gachagua commanded considerable influence over MPs from the Mt Kenya region, a fact reflected in the large turnouts at his public rallies, staged in apparent solidarity with his tribulations allegedly orchestrated by the government.
This influence is now waning. Many MPs express frustration at his refusal to bankroll their political activities, instead, expecting them to contribute generously to his own initiatives. Others question the allocation of the substantial funds he raised during his US fundraising efforts. The steady exodus from his DCP party suggests that, in practice, MPs are voting with their feet.
Has Gachagua finally flown too close to the sun? The verdict remains unsettled.
Mr Khafafa is a public policy analyst