Ngujiri Wambugu has slammed former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, accusing him of prioritising selfish personal interests and fuelling his vendetta against President William Ruto at the expense of Mt Kenya residents.
Mr. Wambugu, says that Gachagua is obsessed with establishing his dominance in the Mt Kenya region and will go to extreme lengths to do so.
He claimed that the former DP is portraying lawmakers affiliated to President William Ruto as 'traitors of the region and threatening them with ouster come 2027.
"What Gachagua is trying to do is if you are not with him, you are with Kasongo. This we must resist. Believe me, Gachagua is obsessed with becoming Raila Odinga in Mt Kenya, dictating who gets elected and who doesn’t." said Wambugu.
Further, Wambugu accused the former DP of politically manipulating residents in the vote-rich region to hate each other.
Referencing a recent visit by artists from the region to Deputy President Kithure Kindiki's Karen residence, who have since then been receiving backlash, Wambugu questioned why they are on the receiving end yet Kindiki hails from the same region.
"When I say we are being politically manipulated to hate each other, an example is that poster of musicians who visited Kindiki now being called enemies of the Mt, forgetting Kindiki is also from Mt Kenya & DP to boot. This nonsense really must stop." he stated.
Wambugu, also slammed legislators who have expressed support for Gachagua’s new party, claiming that they are lying to kenyans. He dared those dissatisfied with their current political party to resign and seek re-election.
" These MPs supporting the new party are lying to Kenyans. If you really believe it’s better than the one you are in: resign and seek a fresh mandate, ground itakurudisha. Otherwise these campaigns for the new party ni mchezo ya toani"
Wambugu's remarks come in the wake of growing dissent against President William Ruto following the fall-out and impeachment of Rigathi Gachagua as deputy president last year.
As the political scramble for Mt Kenya heats up, President Ruto and his impeached deputy are laying out parallel political strategies to win the support of the populous, vote-rich region ahead of the 2027 polls.
Gachagua has formed a new political movement composed of allies in the legislature. The new outfit, the Ituungati movement, is similar to the ‘Tangatanga’ group which Ruto formed in 2018 to face his then-boss President Uhuru Kenyatta, after failing to get Uhuru’s support as his successor in the 2022 elections.
Ituungati, which means “the servants of the community”, is a Kikuyu word derived from Kenya’s Mau Mau liberation war in the 1950s. According to Gachagua, the word aims to portray the new group – which mostly comprises legislators who opposed his impeachment – as the ‘heroes’ of the Mt Kenya region.
Borrowing its activities heavily from Ruto’s Tangatanga, the legislators have been accompanying Gachagua to different social and political functions, which they later use to criticise Ruto over alleged failed promises to Kenyans. They have also been holding a series of press conferences, issuing statements critical of the Ruto administration.
Just as Tangatanga was formed after Ruto fell out with Uhuru after the latter ditched Ruto and opted to support Raila Odinga as his preferred presidential candidate in 2022, the Ituungati movement was formed after Gachagua’s impeachment.
Though its activities are largely seen as a copy of the Tangatanga political script, Ituungati top officials described the outfit as “the new voice” of the Kenyan people.
In what appears to be a calculated political move for revenge against Ruto’s perceived betrayal by pushing him out, Gachagua has started lining up contestants to face Ruto’s allies in various elective seats in Mt Kenya in 2027.
The former Dp, also recently launched his own political outfit, which he plans to use to contest for the top seat.
