The Senate voted on October 17 night to impeach Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Son of Mau Mau aka Truthful Man.
“Fired”. “From grace to grass”. But before the ink could dry on the headlines, the impeachment had been gazetted, President William Ruto had transmitted to the National Assembly the name of his new DP nominee, Kithure Kindiki, cleared at night by half a dozen state agencies, and the House approved him. But courts slammed the brakes on the breakneck speed transition.
The 9.3 political earthquake was the culmination of a widely reported “bitter fallout” between Gachagua and Ruto. But, search as you might through the acres of newspaper space and eons of broadcast time devoted to Riggy G over many moons, you won’t find a single news report that clearly tells you WHY Ruto and his deputy fell out. Neither Ruto nor Riggy G has publicly complained about the other. No journo has unearthed what happened, when, where and how.
Look at it this way: Ruto found a way to work with ODM leader Raila Odinga, who openly, repeatedly and adamantly dismissed him as “illegitimate President” and just last year called for months of maandamano that cost lives, limbs and property. Today, Raila is Ruto’s buddy. The President has deployed state machinery to support Raila as Kenya’s candidate for African Union Commission chairman. Ruto appointed four ODM bigwigs into his “broad-based” Cabinet.
What did Riggy G do so wrong that Ruto could not reconcile with him, ignoring his public entreaties and even attempted mediation by religious leaders?
Thanks to live TV, Kenyans witnessed Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse’s hilarious failure to substantiate the grounds for his impeachment motion. No tangible proof. So hopeless was the case its backers resorted to the convenient argument that the alleged sins needed not to be proved beyond reasonable doubt as in a criminal trial; it was sufficient they were merely “believable”. Mtu nguyas, that means anyone can stick mud on you, rally others to believe it and you are hanged, si ndio?
From the mob lynching in the “august” House, one is left with the ineluctable conclusion the entire thing was choreographed for reasons journalists must now uncover. The DP’s hounding appears to be deeply personal, probably involving sins on both sides, so that if proper evidence were tabled there would have been other casualties besides Riggy G.
And that is not bar stool mucene, for three reasons. One, Riggy G’s most hostile nemesis is National Assembly Majority Leader and Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wah, known among political reporters as Ruto’s confidant. He described Gachagua as a “snake” the President must get rid of. The DP was a “black man with a black heart”.
What, in plain language, was Ichung’wah talking about? What clear evidence did he have? The media did not dig.
Second, Ruto has remained uncharacteristically “mum”. Why? The DP is the President’s principal assistant. His “studious silence” and the breakneck speed to replace Riggy G is an untold story.
And, third, a day after the Senate vote, the Head of Presidential Special Projects and Creative Economy, Dennis Itumbi, published on X a nine-point menu of choice insults Gachagua purportedly hurled at Ruto in December 2023. It was the first time the allegations were coming to light. But pro-Ruto bloggers have been claiming Riggy G tried to “overthrow” the President. Does Itumbi’s exposé hold any water?
It’s clear the media paid all attention to the high drama of impeachment and failed to unravel the root of the “bitter fallout”. Or is it enough to just describe high voltage political feuds in vivid terms and to craft screaming headlines without explanation? Theatre instead of truth?
He/she said is not good enough. Go behind the drama. Ichung’wah should explain his “snake” and “black heart” metaphors. Itumbi did not dream up his nine-point dossier just last week. Ruto’s silence must be explained.
We can do better. If one person says one thing and another says the other, journalism must go beyond merely quoting the two (called bothsidesing). If Person A says it is raining outside and Person B says it is not, what use is journalism that stops at quoting both?
Riggy G’s impeachment is an opportunity to do stellar journalism that enables the public to make sense of the biggest story in Ruto’s presidency, so far. Anyone to venture out there and unravel the untold story of Ruto-Rigathi “bitter fallout”, or do we move on swiftly to other things – as we usually do?
See you next week!
