Gachagua: Ol Kalou by-election loser Muchina is being set up with Nairobi Rivers Commission role
By Martin Oduor, July 22, 2026Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has issued a sharp critique of President William Ruto’s recent state appointments, claiming that Samuel Muchina Nyagah’s placement on the Nairobi Rivers Commission is a political trap designed to pit him against his own community.
Speaking during a televised interview on Wednesday night, July 22, 2026, Gachagua characterised the commission as an instrument used by the executive to enforce controversial demolitions targeting residents from the Mt. Kenya region living along the river basin.
Muchina’s appointment to the state body comes shortly after his defeat in the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election, where he secured 5,450 votes against Sammy Douglas Kamau Waweru (Sammy Ngotho) of the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP), who garnered 35,440 votes.
“That guy called Muchina was given Nairobi Rivers Commissions, it’s unfortunate. I wish he gives him something else,” Gachgua said, claiming that the body serves a specific political agenda.
“The Nairobi Rivers Commission is a vehicle for William Ruto to persecute the people of Nairobi from the mountain community.”
According to the former deputy president, the commission’s mandate was previously tied directly to his own office, leading to sharp internal disagreements over urban clearance policies.
“That Nairobi Rivers Commission was in my office when I was the deputy president, and he [Ruto] did instruct me we start demolishing people’s houses and businesses and I refused,” Gachagua said.
Gachagua recalled that during the campaign trail, the administration had promised voters that no informal settlements or businesses would be destroyed without providing alternative land and resettlement options.
“Because when we were looking for votes, we gave a promise that we will never demolish people’s homes, we will never relocate people without alternative resettlement and when he asked me to supervise demolitions of houses within Nairobi River basin, I said no.”
Gachagua maintained that his opposition to the demolitions directly triggered political retaliation against him in parliament.
He added that his refusal to supervise riverfront clearances contributed directly to his political rift with the president and his subsequent impeachment.
“If you remember among the charges that was brought against me in the National Assembly [during impeachment hearing] was insubordination that I refused to participate in the demolition of buildings along the Nairobi River basin,” he stated.
By placing Muchina at the centre of the commission’s operations, Gachagua alleged, the administration is shifting the public backlash of unpopular urban clearance policies onto a local figure from the region.
“So this guy from Ol Kalou, he is just being set up against his people, you know ‘go and demolish houses belonging to your community so that people can hate him more.”
Reflecting on the recent Ol Kalou by-election, Gachagua defended Muchina’s personal standing despite the loss.
“This guy called Muchina was not rejected because he is a bad guy by the way, those 5,000 votes he got are people he impacted in one way or another – he is a likeable character. He was rejected because of association,” Gachagua stated.