The solemn farewell to Terry Kariuki yesterday, Tuesday, 11th Nov 2025, in Gilgil — widow of the slain reformist JM Kariuki — should have been a moment of reflection on Kenya’s struggle for justice. Instead, it became a stage for dangerous words.
Impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua used that platform to tell a cheering crowd to “kill the snake and its eggs.” The phrase — widely read as a call to eliminate President William Ruto and his allied MPs — revived chilling memories of the dehumanising language that preceded Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, when Tutsis were branded “cockroaches.”
Human rights groups have condemned the remark as more than crude rhetoric. Analysts warn that if Gachagua is not checked, his words risk dragging Kenya toward the very abyss we vowed never to revisit. “If we don’t tame him, he will lead this country into a civil war — pitting politicians against the people,” a senior observer said.
What compounds the danger is not only the venom but the void behind it: a leader trading in attacks and incitement while offering no policy plan or positive agenda. Political theatre dressed as mobilisation becomes poison when it teaches followers that rivals are vermin to be wiped out rather than opponents to be contested at the ballot.
Kenya’s scars from past violence are still raw. Leadership must choose to calm, not inflame. The country cannot afford spectacle that substitutes annihilation for argument. Sell ideas not annihilation.
