In a chilling replay of his 2022 scorched-earth fallout with Uhuru Kenyatta, impeached former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has turned Mt Kenya politics into a theatre of paranoia — branding rivals as “moles” and “spies” for President William Ruto while urging crowds to heckle dissenters.
The latest broadside came in Murang’a, where Gachagua accused Jubilee Party loyalists — Uhuru’s bastion — of sabotaging the opposition’s resurgence. “Any MP who doesn’t bow to our vision will face the people,” he thundered, a veiled call that critics say encourages mob intimidation.
Even former allies are recoiling. Moses Kuria, once dismissed by Gachagua as a “Ruto mole,” warned that tribal gatekeeping could erode the seven million Mt Kenya votes the opposition bloc hopes to rally in 2027.
The irony is striking. Barely months after cozying up to Uhuru’s inner circle — including a February meeting with Sicily Kariuki — Gachagua has pivoted back to branding Uhuru loyalists as traitors. Jubilee operatives recall his 2022 betrayal, when he abandoned Uhuru for Ruto. “Once bitten, twice shy,” one insider quipped, as personal vendettas fray the already fragile Azimio coalition.
Gachagua’s playbook is consistent: June’s “fools” slur against Nyeri MPs, July claims that Deputy President Kithure Kindiki bankrolled chaos with Sh60 million and deployed 40 NIS operatives to trail him, even talk of assassination plots. His X rants cast him as a besieged visionary, but insiders whisper of a man haunted by impeachment scars.
As hecklers target leaders like Gathoni Wamuchomba as “Ruto plants,” elders warn the politics of paranoia may backfire. “Gachagua’s fire will consume him — and us,” one elder lamented.
