NAIROBI, Kenya — Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has come out swinging against claims that he is fanning ethnic politics, framing himself instead as a misunderstood nationalist fighting for Kenya’s unity.
In a wide-ranging interview on Citizen TV Tuesday night, Gachagua brushed off the tribal leader label that has increasingly shadowed him since his fallout with President William Ruto, saying his loyalty to his community has been miscast as divisive.
“The man before you is a great nationalist,” Gachagua said, looking straight into the cameras. “Loving my community does not mean I hate others. I challenge anyone to bring a single utterance where I have spoken against other Kenyans.”
The 2022 Election and His Defense
Gachagua leaned on his record from the last general election as proof of his cross-ethnic politics. By backing William Ruto’s presidential bid, he argued, he demonstrated commitment to a national project, not just one rooted in his Kikuyu stronghold.
He accused political rivals — some of whom were his allies while in office — of weaponizing ethnicity against him now that he stands on the opposite side of government.
“These are people who embraced me when I was deputy president,” he said. “Today, they turn around and say I am tribal. It’s politics, nothing more.”
Pressed on the diaspora backlash where he was questioned about the same, Gachagua doubled down.
He insisted he had been misrepresented and that the “tribal leader” label was a convenient political cudgel wielded by those who “have nothing else against me.”
Whether Kenyans accept his nationalist self-portrait or view him as a politician tethered too tightly to community politics remains an open question.
But what’s clear is that as Gachagua positions himself for 2027, he will have to confront not just rivals at home — but also a younger, global-minded generation unwilling to tolerate old divides.
