I sprouted like a mushroom, becoming the Mt Kenya kingpin, Gachagua
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has likened himself to a mushroom that sprouted to take charge of Mt Kenya’s leadership.
Mushrooms are a plant source of protein whose spores mature within three weeks after transplanting, and the second in command claims he rose to power like the fungi ‘crop’.
Speaking in Murang’a over the weekend, the DP accused the retired President, Uhuru Kenyatta, of leaving the government without nurturing people to succeed him as the Mt Kenya kingpin.
“I want to assure the people of Mt. Kenya that when my time comes (referring to retiring from active politics), I will not leave you where Uhuru Kenyatta left us, without leaders. I know what we need to do; we need to nurture leaders carefully, intelligently, and slowly,” the DP stated.
The remarks were seemingly directed at Kiharu MP, Ndindi Nyoro, who, alongside his allies, has been campaigning to oust Mr Gachagua in 2027 as President William Ruto seeks his second and last term.
Though he later refuted claims, Ndindi, a close ally of Dr Ruto, acknowledged that Mr Gachagua is the current Deputy President and that he was taken out of context.
According to DP Gachagua, he will ensure that by the time he retires from active politics, he shall have nurtured youthful leaders who will succeed him as the Central Region kingpin.
“We are growing old day by day, and a time will come when we will need to exit. We shall have prepared enough leaders, and you (the people of Mt Kenya) will choose among them whom you want to lead you. We will not leave our house the way Uhuru Kenyatta did,” Gachagua said.
The DP accused the former president of leaving his backyard orphaned, without a leader to succeed him as the region’s spokesperson.
He alleged that during President Daniel Arap Moi’s era, now retired, and the late, Mt Kenya region was locked out of the government because of division among leaders.
“The moment we divide ourselves, we stay out of the government. He (Uhuru Kenyatta) left us without a leader. We hustled, and eventually, I sprouted like a mushroom,” DP Gachagua said.
He added, “He never prepared us… He never wanted to see someone coming up. He could pick a sledgehammer and prevent one from rising up, and for me, I cannot do that”.
DP Gachagua has been recorded a number of times accusing the retired President of leaving a dilapidated economy, claiming that President Ruto has struggled to revive it.