Former Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi has revealed how President William Ruto settled on former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua as his running mate during the 2022 presidential election.
In a statement on Tuesday, March 10, he said the discussion took place on the eve of the running mate announcement when Ruto called him for a late-night meeting.
Muturi said Ruto explained that senior leaders within the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) had already agreed that the running mate had to come from both the party and the Mt. Kenya region.
“On the night before the running mate was picked in 2022, I was in Mombasa when William Ruto called me and asked that we meet in Karen. When I got there, he explained that leaders within UDA had taken the position that the running mate had to come from UDA and from the Mt. Kenya region,” he said.
Muturi added that Ruto also explained why he could not be considered for the role despite earlier discussions about the possibility.
“He also told me that the reason he could not pick me was because I belonged to another party, the Democratic Party, and I could not join UDA. Because of that, the promise he had earlier made to me could not be fulfilled,” he added.
Muturi said he accepted the explanation and assured Ruto that he understood the situation.
However, he said the debate over the running mate had not been fully settled within the campaign team at the time, particularly regarding the suitability of Kithure Kindiki.
He explained that although Kindiki had initially received the majority vote among the team, Ruto had concerns about his political appeal in the Mt. Kenya region.
“However, there was still a stalemate within the team. He explained that although the majority had initially voted for Kindiki, he felt that Kindiki did not seem to understand politics well enough. He even remarked that people in the Mt. Kenya region were even asking whether Kindiki was Maasai because he could hardly speak Kikuyu,” he continued.
Muturi said Ruto eventually concluded that selecting Kindiki would weaken the ticket politically and risk losing support in the region.
“Eventually, he told me he had made up his mind that Rigathi Gachagua would be the running mate because picking Kindiki would have been political suicide. It would have cost us votes,” he further said.
According to Muturi, the decision was based on Gachagua’s strong political base and his ability to mobilize voters across the Mt. Kenya region.
“At the time, I agreed with that assessment. The logical choice was Rigathi Gachagua because he had the political base and the ability to mobilize votes from the Mt. Kenya region. And indeed, that is exactly what happened, Gachagua delivered the votes,” he explained.
Muturi maintained that the political dynamics in the region have remained largely the same since the 2022 election.
“And that reality has not changed to date. William Ruto himself knows that Kindiki does not have the kind of political influence in the Mt. Kenya region that can sway the vote,” he concluded.
