Deputy Minority Leader Robert Mbui has suggested that Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s recent silence is due to a potential sidelining by President William Ruto.
The Kathiani Member of Parliament hinted that Gachagua’s absence from the political frontlines results from ongoing events that are diminishing his political influence.
Mbui opined that President William Ruto’s comment about considering a female running mate in the next election cycle might have upset DP Gachagua, leading to doubts about his future as the second-in-command.
“After he issued those statements and the women cheered him wildly he remembered his deputy is male so Ruto quickly added, ‘Now, after we discuss this with the DP,’ but but he had already let the cat out of the bag that he might be considering an alternative running mate,” Mbui said on Citizen TV on Monday.
“That is one of the things that the DP has noticed that he may not be the running mate in the future.”
The lawmaker also noted that Gachagua has been losing popularity in the Mt. Kenya region, pointing out that younger and seemingly more popular leaders are gaining traction.
“There are several very young members of parliament that are walking around and they seem to be making inroads all over and they seem to be even more popular than the DP in parts of central Kenya,” Mbui said.
Related – Hussein Denies Reports of Rift Between Ruto and Gachagua
President Ruto proposed a woman running mate during the launch of the G7 Council Women Governors Caucus Strategy event at Safari Park in March.
However, the president did not indicate that this would apply in the next general election in 2027.
Ruto said the move would ensure his Kenya Kwanza party leads from the front in supporting women and consequently help in attaining the two-thirds gender rule.
“We must, as a party, lead from the front and we must make rules that when Riggy G and myself will have decided in the future… we must also agree that if a man is a candidate for president in our party, the woman must be the deputy and if a woman is the candidate, the running mate must be a man,” Ruto announced.
“And we must also cascade it down to the governors. We must be intentional and deliberate about it otherwise it will not happen,” Ruto said.
He added, “We will do this not because we want to do anything against men but because we want to balance so that we all move together.”
