With about two years until the 2027 General Election, the political battle has intensified, with the Opposition appearing to be gearing up to present a united front against President William Ruto. Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who was impeached last year after a fallout with Ruto, is making a political comeback with a mission to oust his former boss – turned-foe.

The former Principal Assistant to the President says he is banking on an estimated three million payslip holders who are likely to cast their votes in protest against President Ruto’s decision to overtax them.

Each of these voters, Gachagua says, can influence a minimum of two people bringing the number to at least nine million. On top of the nine million, Gachagua says they also expect to gain from the more than nine million from the Generation Z youths who have openly shown their displeasure with the president.

Gachagua said he, along with other like-minded opposition leaders, is determined to make sure that Mt Kenya North, Mt Kenya South, religious leaders, Gen Zs, and payslip holders will take President Ruto home in 2027.

“Our only problem is that two years is a long time, but we shall persevere until we get there,” he added.

He has declared that he has a strategy to defeat Ruto in the next polls and has vowed to expose the president’s alleged deception.

Politics of deception

“Politics is a game of mathematics. Period. Let no one lie to you about this. The mathematics of politics is addition and not subtraction. This is why the president is in a fix because instead of doing mathematics of plus, he is doing minus,” said Gachagua.

Speaking recently during a church service at the Gospel Confirmation Centre GCC in Machakos County, Gachagua claimed that Ruto has lost a majority of the votes he garnered during the 2022 presidential polls.

“In Mt. Kenya, he has lost five million votes. The two million from Ukambani is also gone. The president and his people are doing politics of subtraction while we are busy doing addition,” stated Gachagua.

Gachagua indicated that to make sure President Ruto loses in the forthcoming elections, there is a need for the Mt. Kenya to unite with Ukambani as a single voting bloc.

“I don’t want to go alone and leave Kalonzo alone; once we are united, this election coming in 2027, Mt Kenya and Ukambani will win it in round one, and I want to assure you that there will be no run-off,” explained Gachagua.

Gachagua, who has been lately reaching out to other political leaders like People Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua, went on:

“And I also want to assure you the people of Ukambani, if we unite Mt Kenya as GEMA, for the next 100 years, we shall be in government at every election. If we have our presidential candidate in the forthcoming elections, if ODM boss Raila Odinga will support him or not, and then we have another separate presidential candidate, William Ruto will either emerge third or fourth in the elections.”

But in a quick rejoinder, Mumias East MP Peter Salasya, who voted ‘No’ to Rigathi Gachagua’s impeachment, appeared to make a u-turn after he poured cold water on the former DP’s plans.

“Rigathi Gachagua has resorted to tribal politics instead of uniting Kenyans. He should be reminded that Kenya isn’t just the two regions he is talking about. If that is what he has planned, then he should expect all Kenyans to gang up against him,” Salasya told PD Wikendi.

Meanwhile, Gachagua has sustained his onslaught against Ruto, claiming that the Head of State, his political ally turned enemy, will be a one-term president.

Nyandarua Senator John Methu, a close ally of Gachagua also faulted president Ruto.

“Just like the president has resorted to lying to Kenyans, we have also resorted to sending him packing.”

Senator Methu claimed that the Mt. Kenya region feels betrayed by the current administration.

“Even Uhuru Kenyatta, who was seen as a bad president, never pushed President Ruto when he was his deputy to the level of removing him from office. He tolerated him because he knew he had been elected alongside him. They were together on the ballot. So how could it be that a person who has been elected by over 6.7 million people has been removed by about 53 people? This is not what we expected as people who voted for President Ruto.”

When reached for comment, Charles Kelly, a government and policy strategist expert, told PD Wikendi that Gachagua faces an uphill task in his attempt to unseat President Ruto.

“Former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua has an uphill task of getting accepted in the other parts of the country with his face carrying Gema tribal marks,” explained Kelly.

But Gachagua has assured President Ruto of a resounding defeat in the 2027 presidential elections, even after closing ranks with Raila.

Gachagua claims that a majority of Kenyans have resolved to send President William Ruto back home regardless of any alliance that the president will form, accusing the Kenya Kwanza administration of runway corruption, tribalism, and human rights abuses.

Ukambani factor

The former DP, while in Machakos County, further thanked members of the Ukambani region for the leaders they elected to serve them.

“The three senators from Kitui, Machakos, and Makueni, the day the president ashamed us at the Senate as a community, these three leaders protected us from the shame, and I want to thank them. Also, the members of parliament led by Kathiani MP Robert Mbui protected us from the same shame. I want to say on my behalf, my family, and the people of the Mt. Kenya region that we remain forever indebted to the people and leadership of the Ukambani region,” said Gachagua.

Gachagua, who appeared to endorse Kalonzo’s candidature for the 2027 presidential polls, appealed to the residents of Ukambani region to throw their weight behind the Wiper Party leader.

“Kindly, the people of Ukambani support Kalonzo. A leader can only prosper if he gets the support of his people. Allow him to tour Mt. Kenya so that our people can know and understand him better. I have a basket together with others, and so we shall sit together on a table and agree on the positions that we shall share to ensure the president loses the elections,” said Gachagua.

He also pleaded with the residents of Mt Kenya and Ukambani to make sure they registered as voters ahead of the forthcoming elections.
“Even in Nairobi, we as GEMA have done our mathematics, and it’s clear that we have enough votes, the same with Coast region. We have suffered enough, but we have learned our lesson, and we are ready for 2027,” Gachagua said.