Plan B: Inside Gachagua's political wild card if court upholds impeachment

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has unveiled a political succession plan for Mt Kenya, saying he has groomed a team of youthful leaders to take over should the courts uphold his impeachment and bar him from contesting elective office ahead of the 2027 General Election.

Gachagua said he has established a clear leadership structure in the Mt Kenya region that would never confuse his community in case he was out of the political game plan.

He revealed that the leadership structure comprises youthful leaders whom he had tremendous respect for.

While heaping praises on Nyandarua Senator John Methu, whom he recently appointed as the Designate Secretary General for his Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) and the lead campaigner of the just concluded Ol Kalou by-election, Gachagua said his youthful leaders were more lethal than him.

“I have tremendous respect for those young people. I'm one serious leader who believes in our young people. If you look at the guys around me, they are all young. They delivered the win in Ol Kalou by election,” he said.

The DCP leader argued that his decision to mentor the young leaders was aimed at correcting the mess he claimed former President Uhuru Kenyatta left to Mt Kenya region, saying he left a leadership gap as he exited office.

"I've been mentoring young leaders within my region because I don't want a situation where we could be where President Uhuru Kata left us. He did a lot for this country and we respect him for the work he did for this country. But in his politics in our region, there was one gap. He did not mentor anybody. I have decided consciously in consultation with the elders to prepare the leaders of tomorrow,” he said.

He said he was preparing one of the youthful leaders to either seek the presidency or the running mate position after getting wind that some allies of President William Ruto were allegedly pressurizing him to interfere with the court process to permanently bar him from seeking elective office.

“Most MPs from Mt Kenya have gone to Ruto asking him to interfere with the courts and make sure Gachagua is barred from ever running because if he runs he'll finish us, make sure he is barred from ever running so that if he doesn't run the mountain doesn't have a Presidential candidate then it's easier for us to get elected,” he claimed.

“I have very bad news for you. I have young men and women who have come of age.  In the unfortunate event that Ruto interferes with the court process and I'm barred from ever running I have men and women ready to run and me and the community will agree to pick one and I can tell them those young people I have are more lethal than Gachagua,” he added.

He exuded confidence that in a contest between one of his allies and Ruto, their allies would garner more votes and his against the President saying they were energetic and that the country was craving for youthful leadership.

“Even if today anything happened to me, I've successfully established a clear leadership structure that the community will never get confused. If I'm not there, they know who to pick and move on,” he said.

In what appears as his wild card in the event he was barred from running from office, Gachagua also heaped praised on Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna saying their match with Methu would trigger a revolution in the country.

He encouraged Sifuna to pursue his political ambitions and not to be discouraged by those asking him to shelve his Presidential ambitions over claims he was not ripe for the presidency.

“Sifuna should not listen to that nonsense. He's above 18. The Kenyan Constitution says anybody above 18 can be President. He should pursue his dream. All dreams are valid. In fact, that is one young man, if given the opportunity, I would also like to mentor,” he added.

The former DP said the time had come for the country to embrace youth leadership who have for a long time been told that they are leaders of tomorrow.

“I've listened to those young people. I have sat with people that I work closely with. I believe that the greatest resource for our country is our youthful population. We have got good leaders. They have no history of corruption. They are not tainted. They are not tribal. They have no beef with anybody. They are not vengeful. We are not short of actions,” he said.

Additionally, Gachagua reiterated his commitment to uniting with the Opposition leaders in unseating Ruto in next year’s election, saying he was ready to sacrifice his ambitions for a united course.

“If I am not successful in that quest and my colleagues persuade me otherwise that for us to remove William Ruto, I need to give way to somebody else, I will do so willingly and unconditionally and my supporters and I will support that person to a man,” he said.

“I don't even have to be anything today. I am nobody. I don't have a salary. I don't have security. I occupy no position in this country. But I influence things. I make things happen in this country. I'm the point of reference in all matters. Everybody answers me daily. I don't have to be anybody to influence change of government for the better. I am a man who is willing to sacrifice anything to bring good change and good governance in this country. I am willing to sacrifice anything, including my presidential ambition to make sure William Ruto is one term.”