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Rigathi Gachagua

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Rigathi Gachagua
Gachagua in 2023
12th Deputy President of Kenya
In office
13 September 2022 – 1 November 2024
PresidentWilliam Ruto
Preceded byWilliam Ruto
Succeeded byKithure Kindiki
Member of the Kenyan Parliament
In office
31 August 2017 – 8 September 2022
Preceded byPeter Weru Kinyua
Succeeded byEric Wamumbi
ConstituencyMathira
Personal details
Born (1965-02-28) 28 February 1965 (age 59)
Hiriga, Nyeri District, Kenya
Political partyUDA
Other political
affiliations		Kenya Kwanza (2022–2024)
Spouse
Dorcas Wanjiku
​
(m. 1989)​
Children2
Education
Occupation
  • Politician
  • Administrator
  • Businessman

Geoffrey Rigathi Gachagua (born 28 February 1965) is a Kenyan politician, and former 12th deputy president of Kenya. As a member of the Jubilee Party, Gachagua served as Member of Parliament for Mathira from 2017 to 2022.[1]

He had previously served in various roles in government, including as an Assistant secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs and National Heritage, as a personal assistant to the Head of the Public Service, as a personal assistant to the then Minister for Local Government Uhuru Kenyatta, and as a district officer.[2][3] In the 2022 election, William Ruto selected Gachagua as his running mate, and the two were elected with just over 50% of the vote.[4][5]

On 8 October 2024, Gachagua was impeached by the National Assembly on 11 separate charges. He filed legal challenges against the impeachment, but was rejected by the High Court. On 17 October 2024, The Senate upheld five of the 11 charges, thereby confirming the impeachment. He was set to be removed from office, with Kithure Kindiki having been selected to replace him. His removal was however halted by the High Court via a conservatory order on 18 October 2024. On 31 October 2024 the High Court declined to extend conservatory orders that blocked the swearing of Deputy President nominee Kithure Kindiki.

Early life and education (1965–1988)

He was born in 1965 in Hiriga village of Nyeri County, the child of Gachagua Reriani and Martha Kirigo.[6] His parents were Mau Mau freedom fighters in Mount Kenya forest where his father serviced guns for the Mau Mau while his mother was a food and ammunition courier for the fighters.[7] He is the younger brother to Nderitu Gachagua, the first governor of Nyeri County.[4]

He enrolled at Kabiruini Primary School from 1971 to 1977 before proceeding to Kianyaga High School for his O-levels and A-levels. In 1985, he joined the University of Nairobi, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science and Literature in 1988.[8]

At the University of Nairobi, Gachagua was the Nyeri District University Students Association (NDUSA) leader as well as the chairman of the Association of Literature Students.[9]

Career

After graduating from the University of Nairobi with a Bachelor's degree in Administration, Gachagua was employed for a short time at the Kenya's Ministry of Home Affairs & National Heritage before he joined the Administration Police Institute in 1990. After graduating from the institute, Gachagua was posted at the Office of President Daniel arap Moi as a District Officer Cadet between 1991 and 1992.[9]

Gachagua then went on to serve as a District Officer in Kakamega Navakholo, Ng'arua and Laikipia districts. Between 1999 and 2000, he joined the Kenya School of Government where he graduated with an Advanced Diploma in Public Administration.[10] Between 2001 and 2006, Gachagua worked as the Personal Assistant to Uhuru Kenyatta.[11]

Between 2007 and 2017, Gachagua remained behind the scenes running his businesses.[12][13]

Political career

Member of Parliament

Gachagua was elected as a member of parliament for Mathira constituency, which was earlier held by his brother Nderitu,[14] in the 2017 election.[15]

Rigathi Gachagua is known for his outspoken, aggressive and sometimes abrasive style of politics.[16] His time as a legislator was characterized by championing issues that centered primarily on the needs of Mount Kenya residents; often he addressed issues by publicly putting the authority figures mandated to solve them to task. William Ruto would later cite this as one of the reasons Gachagua was chosen as his running mate saying, “Gachagua is a very passionate leader, a people's person. He speaks about ordinary people...”[17]

In 2017, Gachagua took on Keriako Tobiko as the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Forestry. The Cabinet Secretary had  raised the alarm regarding overexploitation of upstream water resources in the Mt. Kenya Region and directed the Kenya Forest Service to destroy illegal intakes.[18] Gachagua claimed that many of the intakes destroyed were legal and that this had occasioned a water crisis for thousands of people. He said, “I am calling for his [Tobiko's] sacking on the basis of incompetence; he is not able to appraise the situation. He did not do due diligence on the legality of the intakes and he failed in analysis of the humanitarian crisis arising from the situation.” [19]

The Minister of Water and Sanitation, Simon Chelugui, was drawn into the fray, meeting with Gachagua and other Mt Kenya legislators over the matter. He promised to have all intakes with necessary documentation restored.[20]

Legislation

In 2019, Gachagua sponsored an amendment bill to the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015.[21] He argued that Kenyan firms could not fairly compete and would be run out of the market by Chinese firms that were able to get loans at less than a sixth the interest rates.[22] He was also critical of the alleged market advantages the Chinese received when carrying out government business, he said "What is annoying us is that once they get a contract the materials coming for the construction is procured from China, and they import it duty free."[23] The amendment reserved government contracts under 1 billion shillings for local companies and proposed stiffer penalties for circumventing the local ownership requirements for larger contracts.[22] The bill would eventually be turned down by the National Assembly's Finance and National Planning committee, citing limited local capacity to provide goods and services as the reason.[24]

Deputy president

On 15 May 2022, he was nominated as the running mate to the United Democratic Alliance presidential candidate William Ruto under the Kenya Kwanza political coalition. Others who were eyeing the same position included Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru, Kandara MP Alice Muthoni Wahome, Tharaka Nithi Senator Kithure Kindiki and National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi.[25] During the campaign, he publicly accused former president Jomo Kenyatta, the father of outgoing president Uhuru Kenyatta, of responsibility over the assassination of opposition politician Josiah Mwangi Kariuki in 1975.[14]

Gachagua has a chequered past with pending court cases over alleged cases of misappropriation of government funds.[26]

On 28 July 2022, a Kenyan court ordered Gachagua to reimburse KSh. 202 million (US$1.7 million), finding that the money was derived from corruption.[27]

In November 2022, Gachagua faced corruption charges in a $60 million case. These charges were eventually dropped.[28]

Impeachment

On 1 October 2024, a motion to impeach Gachagua was introduced in Parliament. This followed a deterioration in his relations with Ruto.[14] Eleven articles of impeachment were brought against him, including corruption, ethnic discrimination and contradicting government policies. A majority of 291 MPs signed their support for the measure.[29] On 8 October, 281 MPs voted in favour of the motion, with 44 against and one abstentation. This is the first time under the 2010 Constitution that the National Assembly has voted to remove a state official from office. The measure was then sent to the Senate for approval.[30] Gachagua was hospitalized for a portion of the impeachment proceedings.[31]

On 15 October, the High Court dismissed Gachagua's motion to annul the impeachment proceedings,[32] leading to the Senate opening the procedure later in the day.[33] Gachagua pled not guilty during the proceedings on 16 October. On 17 October, he was hospitalized for chest pains before a final vote that was expected to take place that evening. Despite this, the Senate rejected a proposal to adjourn for two days and proceeded with the trial.[34][35] Following a majority vote by the Senate, Gachagua was impeached on five of the 11 charges laid against him.[36] He was set to be replaced as deputy president by interior minister Kithure Kindiki before the High Court ordered a temporary halt to Gachagua's removal on 18 October pending a hearing on 24 October.[37] The court upheld Gachagua's impeachment on 31 October.[38]

Following his impeachment and discharge from hospital, Gachagua said that his security detail had been withdrawn and accused government agents of trying to fatally poison him on two separate occasions. He accused President Ruto of responsibility should an event happen to him, adding that his impeachment was "a political game by the president to get rid of me".[39]

Personal life

Rigathi is married to Dorcas Wanjiku Rigathi,[40] a retired banker who is now a pastor in Mathira.[41][42]

They met at a joint university event at the University of Nairobi in 1985. They got married in 1989 and have two sons, Kevin and Keith.[43]

References

  1. ^ "ODINGA". The Nation. 16 May 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Hon. NDINDI NYORO, Rigathi | The Kenyan Parliament Website". www.parliament.go.ke. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  3. ^ "PROFILE: Rigathi Gachagua - Uhuru's one-time Personal Assistant, seeking to become DP". Citizen Digital. 16 July 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  4. ^ a b Menya, Walter (15 May 2022). "Rigathi Gachagua: The village boy a step away from becoming Kenya's DP". The Nation. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Kenya election result: William Ruto wins presidential poll". BBC News. 15 August 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  6. ^ "Rigathi Gachagua family". Kenyan Moves. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  7. ^ "Rigathi Gachagua Biography: Age, Early Life, Education, Family and Political Career". Financial Notes Bulletin. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  8. ^ "RIGATHI GACHAGUA". Venasnews.co.ke. 15 May 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  9. ^ a b Kamau, John (16 May 2022). "How Kanu groomed Ruto, Gachagua bromance". The Nation. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  10. ^ "Hon. Gachagua, Rigathi". The Kenya Parliament. 15 May 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  11. ^ Muli, Francis (16 May 2022). "5 little-known things about Rigathi Gachagua". www.pd.co.ke. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  12. ^ Kinyanjui, Moses (16 May 2022). "Rigathi Gachagua: From office administrator to DP Ruto's running mate". www.citizen.digital. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  13. ^ "Ridor Group of Companies". Yellow pages Kenya. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  14. ^ a b c "Blunt and bold - Kenya's 'truth speaker' faces the sack". BBC. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  15. ^ Ng'etich, Jacob (16 May 2022). "Rigathi Gachagua: From Uhuru's personal assistant to his harshest critic after political tiff". The Standard. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  16. ^ "Rigathi Gachagua: Aggresive, combative and forceful". The Star. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  17. ^ "DP Ruto reveals why he picked MP Gachagua as running mate". Citizen Digital. 12 June 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  18. ^ Ombati, Cyrus. "High number of water intakes in Mt Kenya forest worries CS Tobiko". The Standard. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  19. ^ "Rigathi Gachagua". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  20. ^ "Government put to task over 'legal' water intakes". Nation. 28 June 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  21. ^ "Report on the consideration of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal (Amendment) Bill (N.A. Bills No. 36 of 2019)" (PDF). The Kenyan Parliament.
  22. ^ a b Otieno, Rawlings. "MP Rigathi: My beef with Chinese businessmen". The Standard. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  23. ^ "MP wants Chinese contracts limited to save Kenyan businesses". Citizen Digital. 22 October 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  24. ^ March 22, 2020, Sunday (19 September 2020). "MPs reject locking out of foreign contractors". Business Daily. Retrieved 15 September 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  25. ^ Asamba, Mercy (15 May 2022). "DP Ruto picks Rigathi Gachagua as his running mate". The Star. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  26. ^ Wainaina, Ndung'u (16 May 2022). "Rigathi Gachagua's political journey". The Standard. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  27. ^ "Afrique Kenya: le colistier de William Ruto condamné à rembourser 1,7 million d'euros à l'Etat". RFI. 29 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  28. ^ Thirouard, Albane (12 November 2022). "Kenya: abandon des charges contre le vice-président Rigathi Gachagua". RFI (in French). Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  29. ^ "Clashes in Kenya as people discuss the deputy president's impeachment motion". Associated Press. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
  30. ^ "MPs vote to impeach Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua". Business Daily Africa. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  31. ^ Sande, Nyongesa (17 October 2024). "Kenya's Senate Impeaches Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua in Historic Decision". Nyongesa Sande. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  32. ^ "Kenya's High Court rejects move to stop deputy president's impeachment debate". Voice America. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  33. ^ "Kenya's Senate launches impeachment hearings against deputy president". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  34. ^ "Kenya's deputy president pleads not guilty in impeachment process". Associated Press. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  35. ^ "Kenya deputy president in hospital ahead of impeachment vote - lawyer". BBC. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  36. ^ "Kenya's deputy president sacked while in hospital". BBC. 17 October 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  37. ^ "Kenya: High Court issues order halting replacement of Rigathi Gachagua as DP". Africanews. 18 October 2024. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  38. ^ "Kenyan court clears the way for a new deputy president to take office". Associated Press. 18 October 2024. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  39. ^ "Kenya: Impeached DP Gachagua alleges attempts on his life, calls Ruto "vicious"". Africanews. 21 October 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  40. ^ "Meet Rigathi Gachagua's Little Known Wife Who Is A Pastor". KDR News. 19 September 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  41. ^ "Dorcas Rigathi: From pulpit to Second Lady's office". KBC. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  42. ^ "Gachagua: My vision as deputy president". Nation. 16 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  43. ^ "Meet Gachagua's son who topped 2010 KCSE, runs family business". The Star News. 19 September 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
National Assembly (Kenya)
Preceded by
Peter Weru Kinyua
 Member of the Parliament for Mathira
2017–2022 		Succeeded by
Eric Mwangi Kahugu
Party political offices
New political party UDA nominee for Deputy President of Kenya
2022 		Most recent
New political alliance Kenya Kwanza nominee for Deputy President of Kenya
2022
Political offices
Preceded by Deputy President of Kenya
2022–present 		Incumbent
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