NAIROBI, Kenya Sep 20 \u2013 Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua says he is prepared for his potential impeachment, as political tensions between him and President William Ruto continue to escalate. <\/p>\n
Speaking during an exclusive interview with Citizen TV on Friday night, Gachagua revealed he is aware of a plot to oust him from government.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone knows about it. There was a meeting in Nyahururu and another at a Cabinet Secretary\u2019s house in Kitisuru, Nairobi, where this plot was hatched. It\u2019s not a secret,\u201d Gachagua stated. \u201cLet them go ahead. If they table a motion to remove me, so be it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gachagua claimed money has exchanged hands for MPs to pass the impeachment bill but he did not give further details when asked how much money was given to the leaders.<\/p>\n
He warned, however, that such a motion would require the approval of the president. \u201cNo motion to impeach a deputy president can be tabled in Parliament without the president\u2019s knowledge. So, if it\u2019s tabled, it must have that approval,\u201d Gachagua said. \u201cI am asking the president to stop this because it could destabilize the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gachagua also announced his intention to speak out publicly. \u201cI will no longer keep quiet. I started today at Marikiti Market, and you will see more of this. I will speak out,\u201d he asserted.<\/p>\n
The deputy president expressed disappointment that President Ruto has not upheld a promise made during the election campaign. \u201cThe president assured me that I wouldn\u2019t face intimidation, as he did when he was Uhuru Kenyatta\u2019s deputy. But today, what\u2019s happening to me is worse than what he experienced.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked about his absence from some key presidential events, Gachagua said he had been removed from a WhatsApp group containing the president\u2019s diary. \u201cI no longer have access to the president\u2019s schedule. Myself and my team were removed by the president\u2019s Private Secretary, Mr. Maiyo. It\u2019s very petty.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the same time, Gachagua refuted claims that he bullies Members of Parliament and other elected leaders in the ruling Kenya Kwanza administration. In the interview with Citizen TV\u2019s Sam Gituku at his Karen residence, Gachagua clarified that his straightforwardness is being mistaken for bullying.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t bully anybody. I am just truthful. I ask MPs to listen to the people, and they call that bullying. It\u2019s not bullying\u2014it\u2019s being truthful,\u201d he stated. According to Gachagua, those accusing him are in denial, as they want to hold onto lies.<\/p>\n
On the abandonment by most MPs from his Nyeri home county, Gachagua blamed coercion from higher powers. \u201cWe have a problem in this country\u2014people don\u2019t want to hear the truth. Those MPs are good people but are under a lot of coercion and intimidation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they want to be coerced to fight me, that\u2019s their choice. They have a date with the people in due time, and I am not bothered.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the criticisms, Gachagua insisted he remains focused on what matters most\u2014his relationship with the electorate. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter what they say. What matters is that the people of Nyeri are with me. Forty-four MCAs and the Governor of Nyeri support me.\u201d<\/p>\n
This comes after Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja and Majority Leader Kimani Ichung\u2019wah launched similar attacks, accusing Gachagua of bullying and belittling other leaders. Sakaja, in a June UDA Delegates Conference at Bomas, described Gachagua as a \u201cbully\u201d involved in Nairobi\u2019s affairs. \u201cYou can\u2019t bully people for two years and then cry when you\u2019re called out for a week,\u201d Sakaja remarked.<\/p>\n
Ichung\u2019wah also accused Gachagua of using intimidation tactics. \u201cMany MPs from Mt Kenya dissociated themselves from the DP due to his desperation and attempts to intimidate them,\u201d he said at a past rally.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NAIROBI, Kenya Sep 20 \u2013 Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua says he is prepared for his potential impeachment, as political tensions between him and President William Ruto continue to escalate. Speaking during an exclusive interview with Citizen TV on Friday night, Gachagua revealed he is aware of a plot to oust him from government. \u201cEveryone knows […]<\/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-94173","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\/94173","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=94173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94173\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}