Ex-Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has told off President William Ruto saying no amount of state appointments will change political matrix in the vote-rich Mt Kenya region.
Gachagua said the region has moved on and the faster the President reconciles with the reality the better.
Ruto has in the recent past made high-profile appointments in the region in what pundits believe is a deliberate move to win back the restive area.
Some of the hirings include the recent appointments of Mutahi Kagwe (Agriculture), William Kabogo (ICT) and Lee Kinyanjui (Trade).
But Gachagua termed the move immaterial and that which will not change things in the Mountain.
“Even if he makes the Mumbi his Prime Cabinet Secretary and make her nine daughters Cabinet Secretaries nothing will change, the mountain is gone and gone forever,” Gachagua said.
“No amount of appointing anybody from this region will change anything.”
The former Mathira lawmaker also criticised Ruto’s ongoing development tour of Western Kenya, claiming it has shifted focus from key national issues to discussions centered on him.
Speaking during a TikTok Live session, Gachagua expressed concern that instead of addressing the region’s critical development challenges, the President and his team are discussing him.
He urged the government to focus on tangible issues such as reviving sugar factories, improving road infrastructure, providing clean water and addressing healthcare shortages.
“We’ve seen this script before. When he visited Mt Kenya, he knew every road by name, every village by heart, but it was all talk. He’s now doing the same in Western Kenya,” Gachagua said.
President Ruto has spent four days in Western Kenya launching and inspecting several development projects.
These include issuing bonuses to sugarcane farmers at Mumias Sugar Company, the tarmacking of the Mumias-Musanda road, flood control initiatives in Budalang’i, the Lower Nzoia Irrigation Project, and laying the foundation stone for Khwisero Mother Child Level IV Hospital in Kakamega county.
Others include groundbreaking for Luanda Modern Market in Vihiga county, inspecting the Nasewa EPZA project in Busia, and overseeing agricultural initiatives.
However, Gachagua argued that political grandstanding could overshadow these efforts.
Drawing comparisons to Mt Kenya, he suggested that promises made there had not yielded significant results.
“Now, he doesn’t even visit us. I urge the people of Western Kenya to focus on ensuring development and not be swayed by empty pledges.”
The former deputy president also emphasised that the people of Western should scrutinise promises made by the government and hold leaders accountable.
Gachagua has claimed that people and leaders are afraid of being seen with him due to fears of being victimised.
He said individuals from various sectors, including church leaders,
professionals and businesspeople, are reaching out to him with their views on
the way forward for Mt Kenya, but are reluctant to be publicly associated with
him
