From left: Rigathi Gachagua, Ahmednasir Abdullahi, and William Ruto. |
Lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi has cautioned President William Ruto against following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta. Which mistake did Uhuru Kenyatta commit? In a statement on Monday, September 9, Ahmednasir asked Ruto to learn from Uhuru’s mistakes in dealing with a rebellious deputy president. According to Ahmednasir, Uhuru made a costly mistake by failing to deal firmly with Ruto, who was then his deputy in the Jubilee government. “H.E Ruto must learn from the mistakes of Uhuru. Just like Uhuru made many costly mistakes and was extremely clumsy in addressing the open rebellion of his deputy, William Ruto, William Ruto must not make the same mistakes all over again,” Ahmednasir said.
Should Rigathi Gachagua be impeached? He argued that even though the president cannot fire his deputy, Ruto should consider using the parliamentary process to impeach DP Rigathi Gachagua. He pointed out that, unlike Uhuru, Ruto currently has the numerical strength in the parliamentary enough to oust Gachagua. The outspoken lawyer said because impeaching Gachagua might come with political consequences, Ruto should consider confronting and dealing decisively with his deputy. “Unlike Uhuru, Ruto (for the time being) has the numbers in parliament. Of course, removing Gachagua brings to the fore many problems for Ruto, but just like Uhuru made mistakes in failing to confront Ruto headon and deal with him decisively, Ruto must learn from history and not make the same mistake,” he said.
Why should Ruto deal with Gachagua firmly? While hitting out at Gachagua, Ahmednasir said a president should never allow his deputy to endlessly campaign against him, his government, and policies 24/7 in churches and rallies. “A deputy president should never be allowed to abuse and undermine his boss 24/7… it just doesn’t make sense. A deputy president who openly rebels against his boss, develops his constituency over time, will run a parallel government,” he added. Ahmednasir, who insisted that Ruto must not make mistakes like Uhuru, asked the president to deal firmly with Gachagua before it was too late.
“He must cut Gachagua to size before he comes too big to handle…as Uhuru belatedly realised with his deputy, William Ruto…to his eternal regret,” the outspoken lawyer added. Why Gachagua accused government officials of being liars His sentiments come a few days after Gachagua accused a section of Kenya Kwanza leaders of developing the habit of lying to Kenyans. Speaking at the ACK St. Patrick’s Church in Kayole, Gachagua said that many government officials have been economical with the truth for a long time. According to Gachagua, his critics in the Kenya Kwanza administration were afraid of him because he was a truthful man.
by Amos Khaemba