Rigathi is An Asset to Azimio – Governor Lee Kinyanjui

Kenya Kwanza presidential running mate Rigathi Gachagua, according to Nakuru County Governor Lee Kinyanjui, is a political asset to Raila Odinga’s Azimio camp.

Governor Lee remarked in a statement on Facebook that Gachagua’s appointment as Deputy President William Ruto’s running mate has surprisingly worked in Raila’s favor, as he is receiving more votes as a result of him.

“God works in mysterious ways, so they say. In the political context, never has it been demonstrated better than in recent weeks. The choice of Rigathi Gachagua by the yellow team was God sent. He has turned out to be the single most important asset to the rival team,” Lee said.

He added: “His creative and bold approach to campaigning for his opponent is very ingenious. This has come to be known as the ‘Rigathe effect’ when the choice of your opponent becomes exceedingly beneficial to your campaign.”

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Raila is now the favorite to win the August elections, according to the governor of Nakuru, because of Gachagua’s appointment as Ruto’s deputy.

The county boss also implied that when he (Raila) announced Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua as his running mate, he had the won the presidency.

“There is no doubt he will marshall more votes for baba than any other single politician. As I have already stated, the election was won or lost at the running mate level,” he added.

Also taking on the DP over his choice of running mate was Kitui governor Charity Ngilu who reckoned the presidential hopeful must have been held “hostage”.

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Ngilu appeared to suggest Gachagua ticks all the wrong boxes when judging his qualities to be Kenya’s Deputy President.

She said this when reacting to a video of Gachagua declaring that the Ukambani region does not have enough votes to produce a president.

Gachagua, she added, is a burden to Ruto since his comments cause the DP to lose votes.

“There is no way William Samoei Ruto picked the DO for running mate out of his own free will. He must have been held hostage in some type of way. Otherwise, how else would anyone justify a choice that loses you votes every time he opens his mouth to speak? Disastrous,” Ngilu said in a Tweet.

Read Also: Rigathi: Ruto Picking Me As Running Mate Caused Rift in Mt Kenya

“Wacha tuongee ukweli… kura ya Kitui, Makueni, Machakos 1.5 million kuna pahali inaweza enda?” Gachagua says in the video which was recorded last year.

This loosely translates to: “Let us speak the truth. Kitui, Makueni and Machakos have 1.5 million votes, can that take someone somewhere?”

Ngilu launched another attack on Gachagua by sharing a video of him detailing how the Mt Kenya region likes money.

Gachagua seems to insinuate in the video that the Mt Kenya region easily backed Ruto because of money.

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“Nitaanza kufundisha nyinyi mambo ya pesa. Hii pesa ni kitu mzuri, pesa ni sabuni ya roho, na nimvunja mlima. Na ndio Kwa sababu kule kwetu mlima tunapenda  pesa. Ndio sababu tumesikilizana na kijana yenu William Ruto,” he said.

To this Ngilu said: “Dear Kenyans, these are not gaffes. This is exactly who the other side is, after all, he is their number two. When you vote please remember that. Also, please remember, it’s your money they are talking about.”

Gachagua’s selection as Ruto’s running mate has aroused conflicting comments from both sides of the political divide.

He has made comments that have been interpreted as a setback for the DP, who is counting on him to consolidate votes in the Mt Kenya area.