Nyeri governor Mutahi Kahiga has claimed that President William Ruto was the reason behind deputy president Rigathi Gachagua’s absence at a church event in Nyeri County on September 15.
Speaking on Friday, September 20, Kahiga asserted that Gachagua called him the night before the church event and told him that he would be attending together with the president.
The county boss, however, stated that the deputy president told him that they would attend another event in Kirinyaga County before going to Nyeri.
“The president is the cause for that empty seat because I was called the night before by the deputy president. He told me they would be going with the president to Kirinyaga and then come to Nyeri.
“So I was ready only for me to see the president not go to Kirinyaga but went to a church in Outering in the morning. Gachagua had already gone to Kirinyaga to wait for the president. He was there waiting for the president,” Kahiga remarked.
He added that the president asked him whether the deputy president would attend the event in Nyeri, but he responded by saying that he was waiting for him in Kirinyaga.
The Governor revealed that Ruto asked for Gachagua’s whereabouts and blamed the mishap on forgetting to communicate the early morning changes he had made.
“Even as we were sitting in Nyeri, I remember the president asking if the deputy president is coming. I told him he was waiting for him in Kirinyaga. And the president told me, ‘Oh my God, it happened that I changed my plans a bit in the morning,'” Kahiga explained.
Mutahi Kahiga however defended the DP saying that he respects and honors the President.
The latest onslaught on DP Gachagua is coming even as more leaders dissociate themselves from him, aligning themselves with Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki.
On his part, Gachagua has called on Mt.Kenya leaders to desist from early campaigns and regional politics and instead focus on the development of the country.
