Master of comebacks? Ruto falls back on decorum calls as 'wounded' Gachagua tears allies

Common decency was cast aside. Insults flew, and protocol was ignored. This was not a political rally or a marketplace quarrel but the requiem Mass of Ol Kalou MP Njuguna Kiaraho.

President William Ruto and his arch-rival Rigathi Gachagua turned the funeral into a show of political muscle, trading barbs over their strained relationship.

It was their second face-to-face encounter since Gachagua’s impeachment. At their previous meeting, only the President addressed mourners while Gachagua was kept off the VIP podium.

They last met on November 16, 2024, during the episcopal ordination and installation of Rev Peter Kimani as the fourth Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Embu at the University of Embu grounds.

This time, Gachagua arrived early, took a seat on the VIP dais with his allies and appeared ready for a confrontation.

Nyandarua Senator John Methu set the tone. Rising to speak, he accused Ruto of mistreating Gachagua, misleading voters on development pledges and ferrying crowds to disrupt the ceremony.

“Our people, you have done great by welcoming us here. We have been told that some people had been brought at night to shout us down… and you said you were not going to do something like that,” he said.

Methu asked the gathering to show support for Gachagua while failing to recognise Deputy President Kithure Kindiki.

“Is that how much you love our Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua? Is that how much you love our king? This person who has been hated on? This person who is constantly insulted? This person who was kicked out of the government?” he said, even as he dared Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah to ‘insult’ him in his presence.

Addressing Ruto, Methu said, although he respected him, he did not fear him. He told him that he was being misled by his political allies, that things were working “on the ground”.

“During Mukami Kimathi’s burial ceremony, you promised us a road from Kinamba-Karangatha-Kwa Haraka, but the road has not been tarmacked to date. You promised us that the Kariamu–Shamata road would be done in 10 months, but that is yet to be done. What type of politics is that?”

As mourners applauded Methu’s speech, pro-government allies steered clear of politics, with speakers stressing they were there only to offer condolences to the bereaved family.

At one point, Gachagua declined to address the mourners when first invited to the podium, but later rose to speak after National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula had finished.

It was the moment he had waited for, to face his former boss head-on. He said that despite efforts to push him out of office in the hope his popularity would fade within two weeks, he remained a force to reckon with in his Mt Kenya backyard.

He accused the President of bribing MPs to hound him out of office and faulted him for branding him tribal, a label he said was never used when they campaigned together in the 2022 General Election.

“Kiaraho refused to be bribed to impeach me and hound me out of office illegally. Those who accepted the bribe led by Kimani Ichung’wah are the community’s traitors,” he said.

Gachagua said he had urged mourners not to heckle the President during his address, noting he would only speak briefly before leaving the podium.

“We loved and respected you and voted for you, and even if we have serious problems with you, we shall vote you out in the coming months. But for now, you are on the throne. Those who could have encountered problems here include Ichung’wah, since they are traitors of our community. They call us tribalists, yet they are members of our community.

“I had warned you before we fell out that these fellows could lead you into a ditch. I advised you that our people do not forgive betrayal, but you chose to listen to them, and now this community has rejected you. They said I would be forgotten in two weeks. It is now three years. I beseech you to create peace with this community,” he said.

Gachagua also used the occasion to accuse the Head of State of letting the church down, citing repeated incidents in which police and hired goons stormed services and injured women and children.

He urged him to order the prosecution of 12 police officers linked to the attack on ACK Witima Church in Othaya, as well as those behind raids on PCEA churches in Nairobi.

Seemingly agitated by Gachagua’s claims, Ruto did not mince his words when he rose to speak. He told off his former deputy, warning him against dragging the Mt Kenya region into their political differences.

Ruto accused Gachagua of promoting hatred, division and ethnic politics, and went on to describe him as a political agent of coffee cartels he said his administration had dismantled, leading to higher coffee prices.

“As the head of this nation, I will continue to unite this country, and that is why I established a broad-based government to bring the country together. We can’t allow people to be preaching to us about hatred, divisions and ethnicity; such leaders have no place in the country’s leadership.

“I understand that the people of Mt Kenya voted for me in large numbers. I am not a madman, not a fool and not a drunkard. I know what I am doing, the friendship I have with the people here. I know how to work with the people of Mt Kenya,” he said.

Responding to claims that Gachagua had directed the Mt Kenya region to welcome him, Ruto said: “I am the President of the Republic of Kenya. I will not ask anybody for permission, regardless of who you are, to visit any part of this country. No one will come between the people of Nyandarua and me.”

Ruto also appeared to address the ‘traitor’ label used against his allies, saying: “I want to encourage the young people of our nation: do not be intimidated by anyone. No one will determine your fate; it is God and the electorate. Do not be blackmailed and do not worship a human being. Believe in God and work for the people who voted for you.”

When he rose to invite the President to address the mourners, Kindiki called for decorum, saying there were many other places for leaders to confront each other, but not at a funeral.

-  Reports by Ndung’u Gachane, Julius Chepkwony and James Munyeki