"Bora usiguse murima" Why Central Kenya politicians may find it hard to climb Gachagua’s mountain

By Ayub Mwangi 

A good politician will tell you that there is no opportune time for politics. In politics, it is all about survival in the jungle, politicians cannot afford to rest on their laurels in the hope that things will sort themselves out.

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is one such politician. He finds himself torn between conducting himself as an executive, an ambitious politician, and a person elected to champion the interests of his people.

Owing to the competitive nature of politics, Gachagua finds himself at the heart of stiff competition within his own Kenya Kwanza coalition, whose players wouldn’t mind seeing him sent to oblivion.

Within his Kenya Kwanza Alliance, Gachagua has to keep a watchful eye on Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, and National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula. The two wouldn't mind plucking his political feathers and having him for dinner.

But the duo doesn’t pose a bigger headache than his brothers and sisters from the Mt Kenya region, who have broken ranks with him to back Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS) Professor Abraham Kithure Kindiki as their spokesman.

The politicians claim that he has been unable to provide a focal point around which they can channel the “interests and priorities of their people for actualization.”

They accuse the DP of bullying, intimidation, and threats to the detriment of orderly prioritisation of the developmental needs of the people.

That is not even the worst of accusations. Recently, he was accused of being behind the deadly Gen Z protests that saw the youth raid the National Assembly in one of the boldest actions ever seen in the struggle for the democratisation of this republic.

Gachagua has also to contend with the entry of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) into the newly reconstituted broad-based government formed after the deadly protests.

ODM driven by the mantra “who is laughing now” are ready to show that they are occupying a position that was rightfully theirs from the start.

He has not made things easy for himself by championing the “interests” of the mountain at what others see as the expense of the nation.

Given the conflation of interests, the DP has to deal with so many enemies within and without whose agenda are as diverse as they come.

There seems to be a sustained campaign against the self-proclaimed son of Mau Mau. Every step, action or utterance is watched with a critical eye. He has become the Kenya Kwanza administration’s poster boy for all its failures and goofs. The man is now the butt of all jokes and subject of memes, attacks and debates.

The confluence between the interests of a section of Kenya Kwanza Alliance, internal UDA politics and the Azimio coalition makes it all the harder for him.

While Azimio has every reason to pursue Gachagua, Kenya Kwanza Alliance has succession politics in it.

Will he survive the onslaught?

From where he sits, he is doomed either way. If he keeps quiet, goes slow and acts like a gentleman, he will sink like a stone tossed in water. If he continues with his pursuit, he will continue attracting negative publicity.

Nevertheless, the publicity will keep him in the limelight and ensure that he remains relevant to his Mt Kenya constituents. He has found a clarion call “Bora Usiguse Murima” which any political strategist will tell you will be more gripping than the hustler movement.

Secondly, none other than his boss President William Ruto taught him that you shouldn’t sit down with entitlement, and wait for things to happen in your favour.

For Gachagua, if he conducts himself otherwise, he will rue the day when he decides that he wants to play cool politics.

The writer is a communication consultant based in Mombasa. He can be reached via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.