Opinion: The Real Reason why Gachagua was Impeached

281 MPs yesterday voted to impeach Kenyan Vice President, Rigathi Gachagua in what looked like a mock case of stamping an already predefined outcome. The Deputy President has been under a lot of political fire of late and when it was clear he would not be coerced to resign, the impeachment was today rubber stamped in a heated day-long session. Here are the ‘real’ reasons, we opine, why Gachagua was impeached.

6 Reasons why Gachagua was Impeached

1. Political Fallout with the President

DP Rigathi Gachagua seemed to have a political fallout with his boss, Kenyan President William Ruto. For whatever reason, he and the president were no longer seeing eye-to-eye, bringing to the surface that an impeachment motion against him was being crafted. Politicians are like animals in the forest. No one can really explain why they do what they do but it is often to survive politically.

Following the Gen Z Protests in June this year, therefore, the boss may have felt that he needed to make some changes to try and survive the entirety of the five-year term. There’s no doubt that he felt threatened and shocked that his reign could end at any time.

Moreover, the energy and determination with which the sluggish Kenyan MPs have carried out the impeachment proceedings, tells tales of the powerful forces behind their actions. Like a good student, you can put two and two together and understand why Gachagua was befallen by the impeachment. Even his apology was too little too late.

2. Fighting for His Rights

DP Gachagua is not a man to back down. He’s been forged in the vagaries of Kenyan politics for decades and knows how the high lords wield their power. As such, he was not one to be coerced or threatened into submission. As a consequence, he met any opposition with tenacity and fearlessness, so much so that others in the ruling camp felt threatened.

Some of these individuals have the ear of the boss, and therefore, pushed to have Gachagua impeached. When he found out and confronted who’s who, then the forces behind the impeachment were reaffirmed that he could pose a threat in the future. The solution: cut his power to size.

3. Growing Influence

In politics, anything that grows opposite to the wind of the current powers-that-be is quickly extinguished and left to wither. Gachagua’s case is no different. In many ways, he was seen as a leader with an ear to the ground, and cognizant of the plight of the common Kenyan mwananchi (citizen). As such, his endearment to the masses, and his growing fight for their wellbeing may have been seen as unnecessary noise in a political feast, within a government marred by cases of rampant corruption and grand theft.

As such, nobody feeding off that system wanted to continue having the ‘poor-man’s advocate’ in the banquet, least of all not when he is warning them that the end of their impunity is nigh. Riggy G, as he’s commonly known, did not shy away from warning the regime that the Gen Z unrest was a symptom of a larger cancer, and his appearance to take the protestors’ side marked him as an enemy. To them, their kakistocracy must remain whoever it gnaws in their path.

That is how easily they can vote to extend their terms, look at it beyond Gachagua impeachment.

— Cyprian, Is Nyakundi (@C_NyaKundiH) October 8, 2024

Read more on Gachagua’s impassioned speech defending himself against gross misconduct allegations as part of the impeachment motion against him.

4. Truthfulness

Like all other Kenyan politicians, Rigathi Gachagua is largely only after his own interests, but not as much as everyone else. As a leader who knows power lies in the hands of the ‘holoi-poloi’, as one Lee Njiru would put it, he knows that ultimately, it’s the people who speak and politicians listen. As such, his activism against matters such as forced evictions, abductions and extra-judicial killings were extremely unwelcome.

The political class in Kenya live behind a delusional smoke screen, where they intrigue themselves with ideas that the common people cannot see their corrupt ways. As such, they were heavily shaken by the Gen Z uprising, and hugely taken by surprise; so much so that MPs were escaping from the parliament buildings using tunnels. The Gen Z protests were literally baying for good governance on the floor of parliament buildings.

As such, these entities, who thrive in stolen public funds and under-table dealings with organized crime or any a contractor who will give them a kickback, hate that Gachagua is going against their system. They want to continue to eat and will strangle anyone who prevents them from doing that, even if it is one of their own.

5. Refusing to Personality-Worship

Kenyan politicians pretend to be the most religious church-going politicians in the world. They try and fool the masses with the appearance that they are devout Christians. The stark irony, however, is that most are keen to bow down and appear as if to personality-worship their master.

This practice, mostly seen in cults, leaves one wondering whether these individuals are part of some personality cult. Rigathi Gachagua’s refusal to treat the master like a cult leader and to bow down and lay low for his policies and interests, is yet another reason we think he was impeached. There’s something very wrong with an individual who wants people to worship them, and Gachagua, as a traditionalist, could not worship a fellow man.

6. Ambition

Like every Vice President before him, Rigathi Gachagua is an ambitious man and whether he cares to admit it or not, he can already clearly see himself residing behind the manicured loans of State House. As such, and as any strategic planner would, he has started laying ground for a future presidential bid, something that has irked the powers that be.

Watch the day-long coverage of the impeachment proceedings in parliament below (move the cursor to the day’s beginning). Source: Citizen TV.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESqyhZ5xcCU

The things is, though, that Gachagua has become too dangerous to the status quo since he has shown potential to actually pull off the numbers. Whether Kenyans want to accept it or not, his home region of Mt. Kenya is the most densely populated, and with the highest number of voters. This ‘tyranny of numbers’ tilting in Gachagua’s favor, therefore, compounds the narrative to have him defanged as early as possible, before he becomes too big a viper in future, that the bigger vipers now are unable to cut him down.

Read more on updates from Gachagua’s impeachment proceedings.