Former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua now says his impeachment last year came with benefits. Former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua says his ouster last yea has increased his political value, making him popular among Kenyans. Whilst the ouster might have sunken his profile, he observes that his political value has skyrocketed ever since he was hounded out of office. Speaking to Ukambani vernacular stations on Wednesday, February 26, Gachagua stated that the impeachment tilted in his favour as it endeared him to Kenyans. He even thanked President William Ruto for sanctioning it.
“The impeachment did not diminish my capacity to mobilise the people of Kenya into politics. In fact, the impeachment has made me more popular than I was before. I thank the president for chasing me because my influence is now at an all-time high,” Gachagua said. Gachagua said the ouster did not affect his life, save for the privileges and advantages that come with being in the confines of power. He said he is now well-versed politically and can authoritatively call the shots and control multitudes on the national stage. However, Gachagua hinted at challenging the impeachment in all the avenues so as to be freed to vie for a political office. In Kenya, impeached people are barred from public posts, either elective or appointive.
The ex-deputy president gave a hint of going up to the Supreme Court to challenge the ouster. He cited the instance of Kiambu senator Karungo Thangwa, who went to the 2022 election and was elected despite having the impeachment spell to his name. Gachagua implied a strategy; to stay the case in the High Court and when the opportune time comes, escalate it to the two upper courts. “There is no one who can bar you from vying because you have an incomplete case in court. The law says that the right to vie for political office is absolute. As long us you have not exhausted the mechanisms available to seek for remedy, nobody can stop you from vying, that is the law. Us we are still in the High Court, we have not gone beyond that point,” he said.
He restated his resolve to unseat Ruto through all the means available. Gachagua said the president was in the bad books of Kenyans and could not be redeemed out of the situation.
by Kai Eli
