DP Rigathi Gachagua On Why He Skipped Ruto’s Nyeri Church Function

DP Rigathi Gachagua has cleared the air regarding his absence from a church event in Nyeri County on Sunday, September 15, which President William Ruto attended. Gachagua’s absence raised speculation, since he chose to attend a separate church event in the neighboring Kirinyaga County.

In an interview with Citizen TV, Gachagua detailed events leading to his absence, which sparked rumors of a rift between him and President Ruto. He dismissed these speculations, attributing his no-show to a last-minute change in the President’s schedule, which he could not accommodate.

Why Gachagua Missed the Nyeri Event

Gachagua was expected to join Ruto in Nyeri Township, with a chair placed next to the President’s in anticipation of his arrival. However, the Deputy President was a no-show, fueling rumors of possible friction between the two Kenya Kwanza leaders.

The Deputy President explained that he planned to attend both the Nyeri and Kirinyaga events, which were in close proximity. However, a change in President Ruto’s schedule altered his itinerary. Gachagua explained that Ruto had initially planned to attend both events, but a sudden commitment in Nairobi delayed his arrival in Nyeri.

“There were two functions that the President was supposed to attend; one in Kirinyaga and the other in Nyeri. Both were on his schedule, and I align my diary with the President’s. Therefore, I was in Kirinyaga to receive him,” Gachagua explained during the interview. “While I was in Kirinyaga, I was informed that he [Ruto] had changed his plans to attend a function in Nairobi. So I decided to stay in Kirinyaga for the event and later join him in Nyeri.” He added.

Delayed Mass

Gachagua attended centenary celebrations at Our Lady of Sorrows Baricho Catholic Parish in Kirinyaga County, where the church’s two-hour-long mass service delayed his plans to link up with President Ruto in Nyeri. “The event I attended was at a Catholic Church, and their mass service takes two hours. It can never be interrupted. By the time the mass ended, President Ruto had already arrived in Nyeri,” Gachagua said. He further explained that he contemplated traveling to Nyeri but realized it was no longer feasible.

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“I could not leave halfway through the mass. The President had already arrived in Nyeri, and even if I flew there, I would not have made it in time. So I stayed in Kirinyaga to represent him.” Rumors of a rift between Gachagua and President Ruto gained traction following the Nyeri event, especially after the empty chair next to Ruto was photographed, Gachagua however refuted these claims and accused certain people close to the president of deliberately setting up the chair to create a false narrative. He called it an act of “mischief” meant to paint him in a negative light.

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Gachagua Cautions Mischievous Individuals

“Some mischievous people in Nyeri, around the President, put an empty chair and took photographs to stir trouble,” Gachagua said. “Once the President arrived in Nyeri before I had left Kirinyaga, it became logistically impossible for me to attend. The idea that I deliberately skipped the event is entirely false.” He added.

“It’s unfortunate that people chose to place an empty chair next to the President and taking photos. The truth is, I was in Kirinyaga representing the President,” he said. During the interview, Citizen TV’s Sam Gituku inquired whether Gachagua’s absence was due to an alleged plot to have him heckled. Gachagua rubished this claim, saying no one can heckle him in the entire Mt. Kenya region. “No, your intel is wrong. Nyeri is my home. No one can heckle me in Nyeri or the Mt. Kenya region,” he said.