Gachagua absence offers opportunity
By Editorial, July 12, 2025Many Kenyans will be relieved to hear that impeached former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is out of the country, on what was described as a two-month tour of the United States to engage with Kenyans in the diaspora.
Gachagua has spent the period since his impeachment in October incessantly maligning President William Ruto, making inflammatory statements that verged on illegality, and unapologetically persisting in his corrosive ethnocentric politics.
We hope Gachagua uses his time away for introspection and to shift how he approaches his role as a prominent national political figure – to evolve from a damaging disrupter to an endearing uniter.
For now, though, his absence could offer several immediate benefits. For Kenya, we expect a reduction in political temperature.
Some political figures, including Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi, have already expressed relief at the “trouble-maker’s” departure, with hopes that “peace can flourish”.
Gachagua’s absence removes a major source of divisive rhetoric from the domestic political scene, allowing us to engage in more constructive discussions on policy.
The period could also create space for other political voices to emerge and for Kenyans to take a break from personality-driven conflicts and focus on tackling our economic challenges and improving social services without being distracted by incendiary political exchanges.
For Gachagua himself, we hope that stepping away from Kenya’s charged political environment provides him with a useful perspective.
Engaging with the diaspora might broaden his political outlook and help him understand how his inflammatory rhetoric is perceived by Kenyans abroad, whose priorities and concerns can often be different
The former DP should use this period to reset his strategy. We don’t think he wants to be seen as a perpetual disruptive force.
He has decisions to make: Does he think his current approach of bitter, vengeful, divisive politics serves his long-term political interests or could a more unifying posture be more effective for future political prospects?
We have reason to worry. It’s worth noting that he stated the US tour aims to engage the diaspora on the “state of the nation” and rally support for reform ahead of the 2027 polls.
This suggests the trip may be more of a campaign strategy than a genuine cooling-off period.
Gachagua should meet key groups, including US think tanks and policy institutes and Kenyan professional and business associations, youth and student groups, faith-based communities, and women’s groups.
The Kenyan groups tend to be less politically partisan and more focused on practical contributions to Kenya’s progress.
He should approach these engagements with genuine curiosity about alternative approaches to leadership.
We hope to see a new Gachagua when he returns – one no longer engaging in “our community versus theirs” rhetoric and who focuses on specific policy solutions that benefit all Kenyans.