Kenya Kwanza leaders want Rigathi Gachagua remarks scrutinised at principals' meeting

Gachagua, according to some of the members of the coalition, could ruin the chances of Ruto becoming the next president.

The selection of the Mathira MP as Ruto’s running mate had caused divisions within the team after it emerged that majority of MPs from the Mt Kenya region had supported Tharaka Nithi Senator Kithure Kindiki as the running mate.

Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua (left) with Tharaka-Nithi Senator Kithure Kindiki Pulse Live Kenya

However, recent utterances by Gachagua have rubbed some of the Kenya Kwanza members the wrong way and called for Ruto’s intervention.

“We are deeply concerned by Gachagua’s remarks and if he is not tamed, he will weaken the coalition and cost us votes.

"Since he was nominated, he has been making careless remarks, we have compiled all the remarks and we will be tabling them in our meeting with other principals,” Former PS and Farmers Party Chair Irungu Nyakera said.

Some of the MP’s remarks that are said to be distasteful include his opinion on big companies, Ruto’s reward to residents living near Sagana State Lodge and his position on six-piece voting in Mt Kenya region.

During the burial of his brother James Reraini on May 18, Rigathi asked DP Ruto to throw a huge party at Sagana State Lodge if elected president, adding that it was the only request the voters had.

Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua speaking during a past UDA campaign rally Pulse Live Kenya

“Let us slaughter 35 bulls and cook copious amounts of rice to go with the beef. Our people don’t want anything else. This is what used to happen during the Moi era,” he urged the deputy president.

Critics of the Kenya Kwanza alliance accused Gachagua of ignoring the greater interests of the Mt Kenya region and instead choosing to focus on the ‘thanksgiving’ party.

Rigathi was also on the spot after remarks he made regarding Safaricom.

“Kenya Kwanza will grow the enterprises of small business people who constitute the majority instead of having giant corporates like Safaricom paying taxes, you can have such a company’s investment and create many smaller companies that will pay taxes.

“Their impact will be 30 times more than from just one big corporate. So we are not chasing big corporates. We are saying that even small and medium investors be taken care of,” Gachagua said in an interview with Inooro FM.

Former Agriculture CS and The Service Party leader Mwangi Kiunjuri also took on Rigathi for pushing the election of a six-piece voting scheme in favour of UDA candidates.

DP William Ruto and TSP party leader Mwangi Kiunjuri Do not allow DP William Ruto to finance your campaigns - Mwangi Kiunjuri warns Mt Kenya politicians Pulse Live Kenya

Kiunjuri told off the Mathira MP, asking him not to purport to speak on behalf of Ruto regarding the matter.

“Everyone is entitled to an opinion but unless the statement comes from Ruto himself we will take them head-on,” Kiunjuri said.

However, despite the disquiet, the Mathira MP has accused Kenya Kwanza rivals of paying bloggers to twist his remarks.

“Bloggers paid by our opponents picked selected words, twisted them selectively and gave them negative meaning,” said Gachagua.

“I said with the bottom-up economic model we shall empower the ordinary people expanding the tax brackets that will see ordinary people paying more taxes than established corporates like Safaricom,” he added.