Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua says he holds no grudge against Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna for participating in his impeachment, arguing that the political fallout from his removal has worked in the United Opposition’s favour ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Gachagua, who was impeached by the Senate on October 17, 2024, after 54 senators upheld five of the 11 charges against him, now views the episode as a blessing in disguise.
In an interview with KTN on Wednesday, Gachagua said Sifuna acted in the interests of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), which was then in the opposition, and that he would have made a similar decision had he been in the senator’s position.
The two, who belonged to opposing political camps during the impeachment, are now co-principals in the United Opposition, which is seeking to rally behind a single presidential candidate to challenge President William Ruto in 2027.
Gachagua said he confronted Sifuna about his role in the impeachment when the senator visited his Wamunyoro home on October 20, asking how he reconciled his earlier decision with their current political partnership.
“The good young man explained to me, and I agreed with his reasoning. They were in ODM, our opponents with William Ruto. So when William Ruto reached out to ODM to give them a rope long enough to hang himself [politically], they just gave it to him,” he claimed.
According to Gachagua, ODM leaders saw an opportunity to ‘weaken’ Ruto politically by supporting the removal of his deputy, who had been instrumental in mobilising the Mount Kenya voting bloc behind his 2022 presidential bid.
“He told me, ‘Riggy G, if you were in our shoes, you would have done the same. This guy was our opponent. He defeated us because he had the Mountain. By removing you, you lose the whole Mountain, and he has lost it, by the way,’” Gachagua said.
Gachagua was Ruto’s running mate in 2022 and played a central role in consolidating support for the Kenya Kwanza ticket across Mount Kenya.
He has since argued that his impeachment accelerated the region’s estrangement from the President, complicating Ruto’s re-election prospects.
Sifuna was ODM secretary general during the impeachment and participated in key party decisions.
He has since fallen out with the party leadership over its decision to support Ruto’s re-election bid, a disagreement that culminated in his removal as secretary general after former party leader Raila Odinga’s death in October 2025.
Sifuna has emerged as a potential contender for the United Opposition’s single presidential ticket as negotiations continue among its leaders.
Gachagua’s position is therefore significant as the opposition weighs its options and seeks to avoid divisions that could weaken its challenge to Ruto.
The former Deputy President said Sifuna’s vote did not amount to betrayal because the two were not political allies at the time.
“Number two, in my community, a betrayal by an outsider is not betrayal. Sifuna and I were not in the same camp; he did not vote for me, so how does he betray me?” he posed.
“The betrayal is with the Kenya Kwanza team. These are people we were together with; we had an agreement on how to work, and we campaigned for them.”
Gachagua said his Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) was also open to receiving former Kenya Kwanza allies who had fallen out with the ruling coalition and wanted to align themselves with the electorate’s mood.
“Anybody who betrayed the community, you have reconciled with your soul, you have listened to the ground, the people are saying, ‘Go where the people are,’ and you want to come to DCP, there’s no vetting, there’s nothing,” he said.
He added that defectors would only need to pay for party membership and formally declare their move.
“So, in matters of impeachment, we don’t have an issue with them (ODM),” he said.
Gachagua, however, said the impeachment would remain a political liability for Ruto and his allies, particularly in Mount Kenya, where the President would have to explain why his former deputy was removed from office.
“He has to tell the people of the Mountain, ‘We gave you our son to be your deputy for five years; you have come back without him. Where is he?’ He will be asked.”
“William Ruto has many questions to answer to the Mountain. The western and Nyanza people have no questions to answer because we were not in the same camp anyway. Even if they impeached us, it’s a simple matter given what is at stake,” he added.
Although Gachagua initially declared his interest in the presidency, he has increasingly positioned himself as a unifying figure in the opposition, holding meetings with rival leaders amid concerns that competition for the coalition’s presidential ticket could trigger divisions.
He said the opposition must put aside personal grievances and differences if it hopes to defeat the incumbent in 2027, even if that means working with those who supported his removal.
“That is why I must embrace everybody, including those who removed me from office, because I need everybody. We need each other, and we have a job to do. Even that impeachment, I have no issue with it; it’s a blessing in disguise. I’m happier than I was.”
Gachagua said the impeachment had placed him in a strategic position to help shape the opposition’s political realignment as it seeks to form the next government.
