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How Rigathi Gachagua's hotel room was bugged

Monday, October 21, 2024

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President William Ruto and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua during the National Prayer Breakfast at Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi on May 30, 2024.

Photo credit: Sila Kiplagat | Nation Media Group

By Kamore Maina

Correspondent

Nation Media Group

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What you need to know:

This recorded conversation is now at the centre of the fallout between the DP and his boss.
Mr Gachagua who spoke on his discharge from Karen Hospital said National Intelligence Service agents had accessed his room in Kisumu on August 30.

On the night of August 30, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua made his way to Acacia Premier Hotel in Kisumu.

Gachagua had spent the day together with his boss President William Ruto on a tour of Nyanza region.

It was the first time the two Kenya Kwanza leaders were receiving a warm reception at the lakeside city since the disputed 2022 General Election but the thawing of relations with their main rival, Raila Odinga, the region’s kingpin, had facilitated the welcoming tour.

After a gruelling day addressing campaign stops, Mr Gachagua had the perfect hotel to wind up the night.

Overlooking Lake Victoria and with a bird's eye view of Kisumu city, the hotel's presidential suite was a splendid way to end an eventful day.

This was not the first time that Gachagua was visiting this high-end hotel.

In January, the hotel on its X account posted a photo of Gachagua at the hotel together with the hotel General manager Shanawaz Basheer.

We had the honor of hosting H.E Rigathi Gachagua the Deputy President of Kenya at #AcaciaPremierHotel! H.E was welcomed by our General Manager Shanawaz Basheer. A true testament to the excellence we strive to provide for all our guests. pic.twitter.com/Nrzq7b869a
— Acacia Premier Hotel (@acaciapremier) January 14, 2023

This evening, the DP was joined by an MP from the Rift Valley region. This MP was considered an ally of Gachagua, having defended the DP when debate on his looming impeachment was discussed in the region in July.

The second-term lawmaker had identified himself as a defender of Gachagua in the Rift Valley region.

Read: The meteoric rise, and head-first fall, of Rigathi Gachagua

The same MP had in the past election campaigned against Dr Ruto and was lucky to have won the parliamentary seat, beating the candidate supported by the President.

This MP would spend hours with Gachagua at his presidential suite in the hotel.

They had a long conversation that they thought was private, but later it turned out that someone else was listening in on the conversation.

A day before Gachagua had arrived at the hotel, an advance team of security officers and officers from the protocol team had secured the hotel room.

Security assessment

The advance team, which normally travels ahead of the president and his deputy, had made all arrangements including a security assessment of the hotel where the VIP would spend the night.

The Presidential suite was reserved for Gachagua while other VIPs and security aides were booked in rooms above the Presidential suite and the floor below.

This kind of security arrangement was meant to ensure that the DP was well-guarded from all corners. Hours before Gachagua checked into the room, a trusted security aide is said to have done a routine check.

This aide is said to have demanded an explanation from the leader of the advance team on whether the room had been thoroughly checked before the arrival of the VIP.

This aide was informed that all security procedures, including debugging of the room, had been conducted.

On this night, Gachagua and his confidant spent hours in a conversation before the MP who was also spending the night at the same hotel retired to his room for the night, according to informed sources.

This has now turned out to be the night of betrayal of Gachagua by men and women whom he trusted.

Read: In his own words: Gachagua talks being removed from President’s diary WhatsApp group

What Gachagua did not know is that some people away from this room were getting minute-by-minute, blow–by–blow updates on the deliberations in the presidential suite.

This recorded conversation is now at the centre of the fallout between the DP and his boss.

On Sunday, Mr Gachagua who spoke on his discharge from Karen Hospital said National Intelligence Service agents had accessed his room in Kisumu on August 30.

Read: Rigathi Gachagua: The man with a sharp tongue

He believes that this was an assassination attempt. "Undercover police accessed my room on August 30 but we detected it. Again on September 3 while in Nyeri, there was an attempt to poison me," Gachagua said.

The Nation reached out to the MP but was yet to respond to an inquiry sent to him by text and on WhatsApp.

A senior government official who is also a Gachagua die-hard told the Nation that details of the secret tapes were first made public to them at a meeting between some religious leaders who met President Ruto at State House, Nairobi, in an attempt to broker peace ahead of the impeachment by Parliament.

This aide, who requested anonymity, said President Ruto had informed them that he was in possession of evidence that his deputy was pulling from a different direction.

Although the President did not elaborate on these secret tapes, there has been speculation from those who attended the meeting that these secret tapes were recorded conversations between the DP and other people.

Read: Revealed: How plans to reconcile Ruto and Gachagua fell flat

Nyeri Governor Kahiga Mutahi last week confirmed to the Nation that some religious leaders had met President Ruto at State House, Nairobi, in an effort to bring peace between the DP and his boss.

Rescue Gachagua

Mr Mutahi declined to comment further on the matter but revealed that he had also contacted several MPs from the Central region to rescue Gachagua from Impeachment.

On Sunday, Gema Chairperson Bishop Lawi Imathiu confirmed that he had visited the President at State House in August but insisted that the delegation of GEMA officials had only discussed the issue of the Gen Z protest with the president.

In a statement issued after the State House meeting, the Gema officials said: “At the meeting, GEMA leadership candidly discussed a number of issues with the President and he gave us a good reception. “

The statement by GEMA went ahead to implore leaders from Mt Kenya not to vote for Gachagua's impeachment.

On Sunday, October 20, Imathiu told the Nation that GEMA was still pushing for another meeting with the President where the Gachagua impeachment would be a subject of discussion.

“We are yet to get a date to see the President. We have been told the President is busy and that State House will let us know when he is free to meet us,” Bishop Imathiu told the Nation on phone.

Another official who attended the State House meeting and who requested anonymity told the Nation that the President had hinted to them the existence of the secret tapes.

After the completion of the Nyanza tour and the emergence of the secret conversation, the relationship between the DP and his boss deteriorated that the following week during a tour of Kirinyaga County, the helicopter carrying the DP was recalled to Nairobi moments after landing in Kirinyaga.

“We had to find alternative means of transport after the KDF helicopter left us in Kirinyaga,” said an official close to Gachagua.

There has been a series of meetings between religious leaders and the President in an effort to reconcile the DP and the President.

A group of clergymen, who are close to both Gachagua and the President a week ago, sought an audience with the President at State House in Nairobi.

The last Sunday meeting at State House was the latest in a series of efforts by the church officials to try to reconcile the President and his deputy.

The same Sunday, Gachagua during a church service issued an apology to his boss and asked for his forgiveness in the face of the impeachment motion in Parliament.

Gachagua on that Sunday apologised to the President and Members of Parliament saying his intention has never been to disappoint anyone.

Misunderstandings

However, in a follow-up address on Monday, he insisted that his apology to his boss was not an admission of guilt and that he was simply trying to clear any misunderstandings that might have arisen unknowingly.

In an extensive interview with the media at the DP residence in Karen, Mr Gachagua said President Ruto has never pointed out any wrongdoing on his part.

“I want to clarify that my apology to President William Ruto didn’t imply that I am guilty. It was in no way an admission of these ridiculous accusations meant to overturn the will of the people,” he said.

“It was just a gesture to ask for forgiveness in case there is something I may have done unknowingly that upset him,” he added.

Before the call by the President, which made it very clear that the boss was not interested in saving him, Gachagua had received feedback from the clergymen who engaged the President at a meeting in State House.

Read: Ruto call and abortive bid to save Gachagua

The clergymen who attempted to broker the peace deal between the DP and his boss were mainly from the evangelical churches. Among the notable faces were the head of ACK Church Archbishop James Ole Sapit, Catholic Bishop Anthony Muheria and SDA leader Samson Nyaberi.

Read: Ruto, Gachagua fallout: From sweet words of bromance to bitter breakup quotes

Lawyer Danstan Omari, speaking on behalf of Nyaberi, who has gone to court challenging the public participation exercise on the ouster of Gachagua said: “There have been concerted efforts by different church leadership to find peace between the DP and the president but these efforts have failed.”

Omari said the church leadership had in different forums attempted to reconcile the two leaders.

He said SDA leaders had moved to court because they felt that the only option left to save the country after the church-led initiative failed was through the courts.

The Nation reached out to Sapit and Muheria but the two leaders were yet to respond to calls and SMS sent to them.

Even after the failed attempt to prevent impeachment by the House, there was a renewed effort by some church leaders to persuade the President to save his deputy in the Senate.

When contacted, National Assembly Majority Whip Silvanus Osoro faulted the DP, especially at his press conference ahead of his date with them.

“The DP insulted Parliament and should be ready to face the consequences. Let the President not dare to intervene, same to the clergy,” said Mr Osoro.

He continued, “Let the independent bodies discharge their constitutional duties as required. We have discharged our role in the National Assembly, let him have his day with the Senate,” he said.

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What you need to know:

PREMIUM Purge: How Gachagua associates packed out of office in the dead of the night

PREMIUM The meteoric rise, and head-first fall, of Rigathi Gachagua

PREMIUM William Ruto: The scheming 'prayer warrior'

PREMIUM Ruto, Raila allies gang up against Gachagua in ouster motion

PREMIUM Revealed: How plans to reconcile Ruto and Gachagua fell flat

PREMIUM Cash-strapped TUK given 30 days to pay Sh6.4bn pension debt

PREMIUM Why 7,000 land disputes remain stuck at NLC

PREMIUM Cops gone rogue: Inside a trail of jailbreaks

PREMIUM Sh500m fines, parental consent: New tough social media rules for children, providers

PREMIUM Why MPs want a say in village elders’ selection

PREMIUM What next for Matiang’i as Ongwae’s new party raises stakes in Gusii

PREMIUM Over 40 and still jobless: The plight of teachers locked out of TSC jobs

Purge: How Gachagua associates packed out of office in the dead of the night

The meteoric rise, and head-first fall, of Rigathi Gachagua

William Ruto: The scheming 'prayer warrior'

Ruto, Raila allies gang up against Gachagua in ouster motion

Revealed: How plans to reconcile Ruto and Gachagua fell flat

Cash-strapped TUK given 30 days to pay Sh6.4bn pension debt

Why 7,000 land disputes remain stuck at NLC

Cops gone rogue: Inside a trail of jailbreaks

Sh500m fines, parental consent: New tough social media rules for children, providers

Why MPs want a say in village elders’ selection

What next for Matiang’i as Ongwae’s new party raises stakes in Gusii

Over 40 and still jobless: The plight of teachers locked out of TSC jobs