Gachagua allies fight back, claim state persecuting him

MPs allied to former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua are now alleging the government is out to persecute and weigh him down ahead of the 2027 polls.

On Tuesday, his supporters took to the streets to protest claims of threats to his life.

The lawmakers, a majority from Mt Kenya, accused the state of using state machinery to silence Gachagua, who has launched a campaign to send President William Ruto home in 2027.

Lately, most of Gachagua's functions, including the recent launch of his Democracy for Citizens Party party, have been infiltrated by goons.

On Sunday, the former Mathira MP claimed his life was in danger, accusing the government of forming a squad to eliminate him.

“I received intelligence reports that President Ruto had ordered that I be dealt with once and for all. A killer squad of 101 officers from the National Police Service, National Intelligence Service, General Service Unit and regular police was deployed yesterday to commit a heinous act against us,” he said.

However, his defenders see a larger plot to isolate the former DP and deny him a political base ahead of 2027.

Nyandarua Senator John Methu said they will not be cowed by the government antics and the region will not look back.

“Mt Kenya has decided in one voice, we shall chart our own path of reclaiming our dignity that has been trampled by President William Ruto,” Methu said.

“We shall work with likeminded Kenyans from all over Kenya, who have been betrayed by the current brutal administration to make him a one-term President.”

Democracy for Citizens Party deputy party leader Cleophas Malala accused the police of being used to score political goals.

“Police have abandoned their work and are now engaged in intimidating opposing voices,” he said.

Gatanga MP Edward Muriu, however, warned the political purge would backfire as the region has moved on.

“The people have made up their minds, the mountain has joined DCP as their political party. Right now, three million people have joined the new party through the USSD code,” he said.

“In Mt Kenya, we want only one party for one reason. Ruto has tried to divide us but now we are all in one basket.”

In Karatina, supporters of the former DP held demonstrations, blocking roads as they burned tyres protesting the tribulations facing Gachagua.

The protests brought business to a standstill as the demonstrators blocked Mwea-Embu highway in Kirinyaga county, while others took to the Nyeri–Karatina highway.