Mathira MP Eric Wamumbi on Thursday painted a clearer picture of his noisy fallout with Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, revealing an even deeper rift between President Ruto and his deputy.
Wamumbi told Inooro TV that their disagreement had nothing to do with the Gachagua-led war on illicit liquor.
He said he disagreed with Gachagua after the latter asked them to abandon the current leadership and regroup ahead of the 2027 general election.
The legislator stated that despite having cordial relations with the second-in-command in recent years, his advice was rejected at a meeting at Gachagua’s home.
He told Inooro TV that he met Gachagua on May 25, 2024, in a meeting that started around 7.30 a.m. and ended at 3 p.m.
“I was the only person he met that day; we talked for hours, and I tried to tell him that his advisers were misleading him, just as they had misled another president,” the MP explained.
“I told him that he had told the Gikuyu people that he never slept and was always watching out for them, but he was now leading them down the wrong path.”
The MP accused Gachagua of being a turncoat and reneging on his agreement with Ruto ahead of the 2022 general elections.
He stated that it was the DP who first introduced him to President Ruto prior to the 2022 elections, and that he (Gachagua) had a gentleman’s agreement with the President on how positions would be shared.
“Gachagua told me he was not going to have a written agreement with President Ruto because he trusted him,” the MP said.
“He told us that after we won the election,he would then go to the President with a list of seats that would benefit the Central Kenya people,”
According to the MP, after the polls, Gachagua went to President Ruto with a list of demands, which resulted in key seats in Kenya’s power corridor.
“The deputy president was seeking nine key seats that he believed would benefit the Central Kenyan people,” MP Wamumbi stated.
According to the legislator, Gachagua’s election haul included positions in Agriculture (Agriculture CS), Money (CS Njuguna Ndungu), Security (CS Kithure Kindiki), Water (Zachariah Njeru), Lands (Alice Wahome), Public Service (Moses Kuria), Secretary to Cabinet, Central Bank Governor (Kamau Thugge), and Attorney General (Justin Muturi).
The MP claims he pleaded with DP Gachagua that, rather than jumping ship to form a 2027 political vehicle, it was preferable to serve under President Ruto and take advantage of the 10 out of 26 cabinet positions to benefit the Mt. Kenya region.
“I begged him that we stay in government since we already have enought seats we should work using what we have,” he added.
“He has helped me a lot in my life, but that does not mean I do not have opinions on our country’s leadership.”
