Deputy President Kithure Kindiki/DCPS
A simmering political feud between Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and his predecessor Rigathi Gachagua escalated on Tuesday after Kindiki told the former Deputy President to "stay in his lane" and dismissed attempts to question his understanding of constitutional law.
In a statement posted on his social media accounts, Kindiki accused Gachagua of thriving on insults, division and what he described as primitive politics.
“Wamitego. Your comparative advantage is in matters insults, division. Stay in your lane,” Kindiki said.
The Deputy President also defended his legal credentials, saying he had spent years studying constitutional law and was well versed not only in Kenya's Constitution but also in numerous constitutions from around the world.
“I hear you want to teach me Constitutional Law, and that you doubt my understanding of not just the Constitution of Kenya but of the over one hundred other national constitutions that I started studying many years ago when you were busy stealing relief food,” he said.
Kindiki's remarks came hours after Gachagua criticised him over his interpretation of constitutional provisions relating to presidential terms and President William Ruto's re-election prospects.
Speaking earlier on Tuesday, Gachagua accused Kindiki of misreading the Constitution and embarrassing himself.
“Please, don’t embarrass us. You are our son. You are thinking and reading the Constitution upside down,” Gachagua said.
The former Deputy President argued that if the framers of the Constitution had intended every President to automatically serve two terms, they would have expressly provided for a 10-year tenure.
He also recalled previous remarks by President Ruto that he would return to voters after his first term and accept their verdict based on his performance.
"He (Ruto) said that he only needs one term, then he will go back to the people to ask for the vote, and that if he did not perform, they should send him home,” Gachagua said.
The latest exchange stems from recent comments by Kindiki dismissing the "Wantam" political slogan popularised by critics of the Kenya Kwanza administration.
“There is no such thing as one term in the Constitution, and whoever says so has not read it well. The Constitution says two terms; the first to introduce programmes, policies, projects and changes, while the second term is to complete the projects,” Kindiki had said.
He argued that the Constitution recognises that major government programmes often require more than five years to implement and therefore allows a President to seek a second term.
Kindiki further expressed confidence that President Ruto would secure another mandate based on the administration's development record.
But his latest broadside moved beyond the constitutional debate, as he accused Gachagua of tarnishing the image of the Mount Kenya region.
“Who has embarrassed the Mount Kenya region more than the person whose greed and incompetence is making us spend so much time explaining that you do not represent our change from the values projected by statesmen born in our region of birth, who served our country in the past with honour, distinction and excellence?” Kindiki posed.
He also hinted at a more detailed response in the future.
“Umenitafuta sana, but at the right time I will answer you. For now niko busy, I won’t descend,” he said.
