NAIROBI, Kenya Aug 27 \u2013 Rigathi Gachagua is casting himself as the whistleblower who dares to call out corruption at the highest levels of power. <\/p>\n
But as he plots a 2027 presidential run, the former Deputy President is weighed down by his own baggage from accusations of corruption to ethnic politics and betrayal.<\/p>\n
Impeached in October 2024 after a bitter fallout with President William Ruto, Gachagua is now Ruto\u2019s loudest critic, positioning himself as the man exposing State House secrets even as questions linger about his own past.<\/p>\n
On Citizen Television Tuesday night, he accused his former boss President Ruto of running a \u201cbribery factory\u201d out of State House, complete with files, recordings, and blackmail to control MPs.<\/p>\n
\u201cFiles, blackmail and bribes, that is how Ruto controls Parliament,\u201d Gachagua declared. <\/p>\n
He even went as far as to brand State House \u201ca crime scene,\u201d alleging that bribery has become official government policy.<\/p>\n
But as Gachagua sharpens his attacks, one big question lingers: can Kenyans really trust him?<\/p>\n
For years, Gachagua has carried heavy baggage of his own. <\/p>\n
He has been accused of ethnic politics, of running a \u201cvillage kingpin\u201d style of leadership, and of personal corruption. <\/p>\n
In 2022, he faced a Sh7.3 billion corruption case before it was dropped for lack of evidence. <\/p>\n
Critics now argue that while he blasts President Ruto for bribing MPs, he himself once benefited from the same political deals he condemns.<\/p>\n
His impeachment also left scars. <\/p>\n
The National Assembly and Senate found him guilty of misconduct, insubordination, and fueling ethnic divisions. <\/p>\n
Though he insists the charges were \u201ccooked up by State House,\u201d the record remains part of his legacy.<\/p>\n
Since his ouster, however, Gachagua has been on a mission to rewrite that story. <\/p>\n
He has launched a new outfit, the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) and is positioning himself as the true defender of ordinary Kenyans. <\/p>\n
At his party\u2019s unveiling in May, he vowed to rally the Mount Kenya bloc and lead a national resistance against President Ruto\u2019s rule, even after goons stormed the venue in an attempt to disrupt him.<\/p>\n
The strategy is clear: paint himself as the victim of a corrupt system, then ride that anger into 2027.<\/p>\n
Still, analysts warn that the \u201crevenge candidate\u201d may struggle to convince voters who remember his own political sins. <\/p>\n
\u201cGachagua is fighting Ruto, yes. But can he fight his past?\u201d one political observer noted.<\/p>\n
In the end, his comeback may depend less on the force of his attacks and more on whether Kenyans believe he has truly changed.<\/p>\n
2027 may yet offer him redemption or expose him as another politician running from his own shadow.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NAIROBI, Kenya Aug 27 \u2013 Rigathi Gachagua is casting himself as the whistleblower who dares to call out corruption at the highest levels of power. But as he plots a 2027 presidential run, the former Deputy President is weighed down by his own baggage from accusations of corruption to ethnic politics and betrayal. Impeached in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120394\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}