The eve of the deadline for political parties and presidential candidates to present their running mates to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in May 2022 was a defining moment for the United Democratic Party (UDA).
What followed was high octane power play, sparking the contentious debate over Gachagua’s nomination with reports that President William Ruto overruled a caucus that picked Prof Kindiki as running mate.
Soon after the nomination saga, Prof Kindiki, while addressing a press conference in Nairobi on May 16, 2022, alluded to “other considerations” that could have led to the nomination of Gachagua as the running.
Then, word had it that during the nomination process, it reached a point where Mr Gachagua stormed out of the meeting, unhappy that things were not going his way.
During an interview on Inooro TV on Sunday night, Mr Gachagua revealed that he single-handedly funded the Presidential campaigns in Mt Kenya region, adding that the UDA did not give him any money.
“I’m a rich man, I made a lot of money during the Kibaki government and I financed UDA campaigns without receiving a penny from him (President Ruto) in Mt Kenya. This is our party, and those who assume we are leaving will be disappointed, we contributed 47 percent of votes,” Mr Gachagua said.
In June this year when bad blood between Mr Gachagua and President Ruto escalated, Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa, a political ally of the president, accused the DP of betraying Dr Ruto by siding with his opponents yet he (Gachagua) secured “a single vote” when Mt Kenya leaders convened at Dr Ruto’s official residence in Karen to pick the running mate.
“We are embarrassed that we will now have to plead for forgiveness for overruling the choice of Kindiki as running mate,” he said.
During the interview on Inooro TV , Mr Gachagua said his smear campaign against former President Uhuru Kenyatta before and after they won the elections was “regrettable”, adding that he regrets having spearheaded a hate campaign against the family of Mr Kenyatta in the run up to the 2022 general election. The second in command emphasised that the Mount Kenya region will always support its leaders, regardless of their past history.
Mr Gachagua had on several occasions urged the former President to forgive those who wronged him in 2022.
"I have been talking and continue to talk to Uhuru Kenyatta and his family and we have reconciled our differences. I was wrong as well as you Mt Kenya people, and we seek forgiveness and it will never happen again. Going forward we shall defend the Kenyatta family from those who wish to undermine them,” he said.
He acknowledged past mistakes and assured that they would not be repeated and reiterated that he will always champion the interest of Mt Kenya region despite criticism about his perceived fixation about local issues. He urged the people of the region to be vigilant and wary of those attempting to divide the community.
“Never again will the people of the Mount Kenya region allow outsiders to divide them,” the Deputy President declared, saying that moving forward, the region will remain united and will call out those being used by opponents to sow discord.
“Going forward, we will speak in one voice, and you should not stub your friend’s back because he is doing well, support him at all levels,” the DP said.
