A state of panic has gripped national government administrators in Mathira constituency after some chiefs claimed they received calls from deputy president Rigathi Gachagua threatening them with sacking for allegedly being “Azimio sympathizers” during last year’s General Election.
The two chiefs – George Mukabi, Dadson Ithiru and assistant chief Burton Chiuma – claimed the DP called them on Monday night and allegedly told them “It’s payback time”.
According to call logs seen by Nation, the DP called them between 8.00 pm and 9.30 pm.
Mathira East deputy county commissioner Mr Peter Gicheha where the chiefs are serving, confirmed they reported the matter to him but termed it a “personal issue” between the chiefs and the DP.
Talking to Nation.Africa separately the administrators said they are living in fear of losing their jobs following the calls from the second in command.
“It was around 9.20 pm when I received a call and being a resident of Mathira and having served the DP when he was the area MP, I still retain his contact. At first, I panicked and was a bit apprehensive because it is a very rare call and I didn’t know what he was up to,” said one of the administrators.
He went on: “When I finally picked the call, it was a familiar voice of his Excellency the deputy president. He started by informing me that he had information that I was among those who were supporting Azimio during the elections. The call was short, and he ended by asking me how many years are left before I retire…”
“He informed me that in the meantime, I should be looking for something else to do because I will be going home. I could not start arguing with such a senior person. However, I tried to explain myself, but he could hear none of it” he said.
However, the chiefs said they have not received any official communication regarding their fate but have informed their boss, Mr Gicheha, about the development.
They defended themselves against the claims saying some malicious individuals could have fed the DP with wrong information for reasons that are unknown to them.
“As administrators our duty is to support the government of the day. We are now under the Kenya Kwanza government, and we must propagate the government’s agenda and policies and we are very loyal to the government. I think there are some politicians who are against us for some reason we are not aware of,” said Mr Mukabi
Mr Gicheha said he received the information from the chiefs, adding that he was treating the matter as “personal” since “they informed me about it, but it was at that personal level. Any official communication from the DP is supposed to come directly to me and nobody has called me,” he said.
“The chiefs are in a better position to tell you what happened. They told me they were called, but the DP has not called me. I don’t know what they talked about so I cannot authoritatively comment about the matter, ” Mr Gicheha added.
In the run up to last year’s General Election, Mr Gachagua was constantly engaged in public spats with the then CS for interior Dr Fred Matiang’i and his Principal Secretary Dr Karanja Kibicho, accusing them of attempting to lure the chiefs and their administrators to rally behind Azimio la Umoja One Kenya chief Raila Odinga.
Contacted for a comment, head of the DP communication Njeri Rugene promised to call back but had not done so by the time of filing this story. BY DAILY NATION