If Rigathi Gachagua fails: Succession race gathers pace ahead of impeachment debate

However, it ends, the Rigathi Gachagua impeachment effort is set to boomerang on President William Ruto. Ruto has boxed himself in a political cul-de-sac.



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Gachagua ouster bid hurts Ruto and Kenyans feel cheated by KK
By The Informer 1h ago
 


Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua
 makes his address during Golden Jubilee celebrations of ACK Thika Memorial Church School in Gatanga Sub-County, Murang'a County, on August 2, 2024. [DPCS]

However, it ends, the Rigathi Gachagua impeachment effort is set to boomerang on President William Ruto. Ruto has boxed himself in a political cul-de-sac.


If his deputy falls, a wasteful three-year titanic power struggle for the Mt Kenya region will kick in. Public participation in the impeachment saga suggests that Ruto has lost the Mountain. His local political buddies look set to fall with him. The feeling of betrayal is pulsating. Did Team Ruto underrate the ethnic sentiment and Riggy G’s support in the region?  

Beyond that, Ruto’s dreams of a second term hang in the balance. With the Mountain gone, he fetches far, to hope that Luo and Luhya's votes, which he seems to be courting, could replace the Mountain. They don’t vote. Second, they are not overly fond of Kenya Kwanza. Suppose Gachagua doesn’t go? The impeachment effort would become a vote of no confidence in President Ruto. In the circumstances, the honourable thing would be for Ruto to resign. But, of course, he would not. Did Ruto weigh out these pyrrhic possibilities? Is he a beneficiary of poor wisdom?

It was impolitic to sponsor an impeachment motion against his deputy in the middle of a slate of heavy challenges for the citizens, to say nothing of the limping integrity of his government. An unpopular government does not sponsor a plebiscite. President Ruto does not seem to know that his leadership is at its lowest fortune. The person in the street is unhappy. He feels cheated by leadership that is all promises, showmanship, and nothing beyond. He’s witness to a dramatic myriad of launches and relaunches of projects, with nothing tangible. None of Kenya Kwanza’s splendid electoral promises has borne fruit. Agriculture is in a mess, following fake fertiliser sales this year. The full impact will be felt next year.

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