Riggy G: DP Gachagua acknowledges his popular nickname
Rigathi Gachagua, the newly elected Deputy President of Kenya, has embraced a nickname given to him by young Kenyans.
The nickname, Riggy G, gained an instant hit on Twitter during the Deputy President debate in July and went viral on the platform weeks later.
The Deputy President has now admitted he was awestruck by the nickname.
“Riggy G is melodious,” the Deputy President said while urging teachers across the country to develop the talents of the young people.
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“I amazed that our creative young people have given me a nickname… they have looked at my two names Rigathi Gachagua, looked for something sounding easier, more melodious and called me Riggy G, and I don’t think its a bad name,” the DP said during the finals of the 94th Kenya Music Festival at Kisumu Girls High School, Kisumu County on Friday.
“I don’t think Riggy G is a bad name” – DP Rigathi Gachagua pic.twitter.com/1GZF80B8Uz
— NTV Kenya (@ntvkenya) September 23, 2022
The brainchild behind the moniker that has since struck the minds of Kenyans, was Ivy Chelimo a Catholic University of East African (CUEA) graduate who during an interview with NTVs The Trend recounted how she developed the name for the country’s second-in-command.
She said she found herself trending during the inauguration of President William Ruto and his deputy at Moi International Sports Center, Kasarani after someone decided to check who tweeted the name ‘Riggy G’ first.
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As she explained on The Trend, Chelimo tweeted the name first during the deputy presidential debate in July.
“It happened in the spur of the moment. I had not thought much about the nickname but started seeing people mentioning it, so I thought someone else had coined it before me,” she stated.
“You know how you can’t actually mention a politician just because sometimes you don’t want that traction on your page? That was me then but I was like let me just mention him because he was winning the debate anyway,” she added.
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