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President William Ruto and his Deputy Rigathi Gachagua appear to have mended fences and revived their previous camaraderie only days after the head of state sent all his Cabinet Secretaries packing.

The two, who had fallen out since early this year, have over the last one week been traversing various parts of the country, and even referring to each other as “my brother”, the comradeship that had evaporated sometimes back.

And unlike in the last three months when Gachagua had to either hire a private helicopter or use private commercial flights to grace official functions, the DP has been enjoying free access to Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) helicopters for his transport.

Since last Friday, the two have been moving around together as they conducted development tours in Elgeyo Marakwet, Nyandarua and Nakuru counties.

Yesterday, the two were expected in Murang’a county.

Taking advantage of the revived bromance, Gachagua, perhaps in what could be a hint of what had led to the sour relationship between them, praised the President’s decision to shelve the Finance Bill 2024, dismissing all Cabinet Secretaries, and personally engaging with Kenyan youth through the X space.

“The President you are a hero and to all of us who have messed you up in your administration, kindly forgive us, “Gachagua said on Saturday when he accompanied Ruto to the launch of Kipsoen Technical and Vocational College, in Elgeyo Marakwet county.

Gachagua, who had previously fallen out with several CSs, counselled President Ruto to carefully consider his choices and take the necessary time to assemble a capable cabinet.

“Nominate ministers who are not arrogant and boastful, ministers who will not engage in politics. Those will be there to assist you together with us to move the country forward. You get a good team that will create efficiency and harmony that will put the people of Kenya before their personal interests.”

Some political analysts are however cautious over the new-found relationship between the two, with some arguing it could be a temporary one for purposes of approaching the battle against Generation Z together. “When in a big war, you choose which battle to concentrate on first. Ruto cannot afford to fight the Gen-Zs while at the same time fighting his Deputy. This could be a temporary truce,” says Mark Bichache, a political analyst.

Another analyst, Prof Macharia Munene, a lecturer at USIU-Africa, says the current camaraderie could be as a result of the President having removed individuals from his Cabinet who had been creating animosity between him and his deputy.

“It is quite telling that some individuals in the Cabinet may have been the cause of the frosty relationship between the two. But it is also worth noting that the two may have decided to temporarily patch up their differences to face the major problem…. the Gen-Zs that are calling for their ouster,” says Prof Macharia.

Prof Macharia says it is not by coincidence that the two have renewed their friendship immediately after dismissal of CSs, some of who had outrageously claimed the DP was financing and supporting the Gen-Zs to oust his boss.

Since May, things have not been rosy between the two with all indications pointing to a frosty relationship in the Presidency and by extension top leadership of the ruling Kenya Kwanza coalition.

Before then Ruto and Gachagua had disagreed on several issues including shareholding in government remarks that Gachagua had made in relation to the sharing of positions.

Government appointments

“This government is a company that has shares. There are owners who have the majority of shares, and those with just a few, while others do not have any. You invested in this government and you must reap. You sowed, tilled, put manure and irrigated, and now it is time to reap,” he said last year linking the government appointments and contracts as a preserve of those who voted for the Kenya Kwanza government. He was reacting after the opposition criticized the government for side-lining their strongholds while appointing cabinet secretaries and heads of departments, parastatals and public agencies.

Shortly after, Ruto visited Siaya, an opposition bedrock and home area of opposition leader Raila Odinga where he termed Gachagua’s shareholding remarks as primitive and backward.

“No one should tell you that you are out of government; this is your government, you all pay taxes, and you are Kenyans, and this your government. We will make sure no part of the country will be discriminated against on matters of development because of political differences. We want to ensure Kenya is one that Kenya is united so that we make progress. It is primitive and backward for anyone to imagine that any region of Kenya cannot develop on account of how they voted. That is not right, that is not correct, and I want to assure Kenyans that we will move together as one nation,” Ruto said in Urenga.

A disunity crept in, both Ruto and Gachagua dismissed claims that their house was falling apart until their indifference went public.

Ruto’s allies started ganging up against the Deputy President both at the government and party level where Gachagua would later find himself in the cold.

He was no longer close to the President as Kenya Kwanza leaders shoved him off.

Gachagua while fighting for his survival quickly returned to the car-top public addresses by the roadside, especially in his Central Kenya backyard where he insisted that there were leaders in Kenya Kwanza who were hell-bent on undermining the authority of his office.

Hoping to get the public which had started drifting away from the Kenya Kwanza alliance, to support him, Gachagua would later tender his apologies to former President Uhuru Kenyatta and former First Lady Mama Ngina for mudslinging them during the 2022 General Election campaigns.

“We will never again vilify the king of the Kikuyu community. We came here and spoke in a manner that humiliated Uhuru Kenyatta, our former President, but now we are saying never again should this happen,” Gachagua said in a rally in Kimende.

The DP would later on revive the one man, one vote one-shilling principle of sharing public revenue as a means of ensuring that populous Central Kenya counties get funding that commensurate with the number of their residents from the National government.

Different scripts

And the rift between Gachagua and Ruto would continue to widen with both appearing to be reading from different scripts on how to run the government.

After Ruto dissolved the cabinet last week, the duo attended a Sunday service at AIPCA Ndogino in Nyandarua county.

This was the first time that the two shared a podium in the wake of deadly protests organized by the youth that have shaken their leadership.

Other quarters say that Ruto has decided to seek the support of his deputy as the only surviving official but to have Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi close by to keep him under check.

During their tour in the counties, the duo brought out good optics with both referring to each other fondly and smiling all through.

Gachagua, who is claimed to have denied the use of military choppers which made him board commercial flights, was spotted riding in one after ministers were fired.

In Nyandarua Gachagua urged Ruto to crack the whip on officials in his administration who are aiding the sale of illicit brews and drugs leading to the resurgence of the menace.

“I’m a truthful man and I want to say today it is immoral and unacceptable that people can sit in government and decide to bring back poison to kill our children without the knowledge of the president, who cannot accept, and without my knowledge,” Gachagua said in Ndogino.

He went on: “Let me address you as my brother, Mr President, let it not happen that poison is brought back to this country to kill our children when you are the President of the Republic of Kenya.”