Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has dismissed former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s defence of Chief Justice Martha Koome, urging against the politicization of judicial matters.

In a statement shared on his X account on February 24, 2025, Kindiki emphasized that the removal of judges should be based solely on constitutional grounds, not political or ethnic considerations.

“Removal of a judge from office is purely a constitutional matter and not a political or ethnic issue. Accusers and defenders of judges must use constitutional and legal arguments to state their positions rather than trivializing such a weighty legal matter by bringing ethnicity into the equation,” Kindiki stated.

His remarks were in response to Gachagua’s comments made on February 23, 2025, where he warned President William Ruto against visiting Meru County if Koome is removed from office.

Gachagua accused the president of engineering a plan to oust Koome, labelling it part of a broader agenda to marginalize leaders from the Mt. Kenya region.

“These Meru people have been taken for granted for too long, and that must come to an end. The president has already orchestrated the removal of several key figures. He started with Rigathi Gachagua—he kicked me out. Then he went for Mithika Linturi. Now, he has set his sights on Chief Justice Martha Koome. He is busy bribing people in court to ensure Koome is ousted,” Gachagua declared.

Judicial independence

Kindiki, however, dismissed these claims, arguing for the importance of respecting judicial independence.

He stated that no judge should be protected or targeted based on their ethnic background.

“Who defends the judges who may be innocent but do not have ethnic godfathers?” he questioned.

Gachagua’s ultimatum

While speaking in Meru on February 23, 2025, Gachagua proclaimed that he had been sent by Mt. Kenya leaders to deliver a warning to those betraying the community, asserting that traitors would have no place in the region for the next 50 years.

“This community, the Mt Kenya region, will deal with traitors for the next 50 years. We are going to send a very strong signal to all those who have betrayed the Mt Kenya community. Those who have betrayed the community and sold out will be sent packing, one way or another,” he said.

The former Deputy President specifically cautioned Meru residents against accepting presidential invitations or financial offers, characterizing such gestures as misuse of public funds.

“You don’t need a meeting in Nairobi to understand the issues in Meru. And this talk about bribing people—what he is giving is money that should be used for buying medicine, not bribing leaders. Let me tell you, those who take that money, it’s cursed,” he said.