Contrary to the beliefs that he would select a poor hustler, Deputy president William Samoei Ruto is likely to pick the philanthropic tycoon Rigathi Gachagua who happens to be the Mathira member of parliament as his running mate.
DP Ruto gave this hint on Saturday during his Nyeri tour where he asked the residents to guarantee Gachagua another term even as he helps him to traverse other parts of the country ahead of the 2022 general elections.
“You have given me kande ya wera (Gachagua) to help me to seek the national votes and you will protect his seat here at home. Should I take him to help me?” Posed DP Ruto.
Many people had speculated that Ann Waiguru would be the running mate for deputy president William Ruto, something which may not materialize due to a move by the second in command to groom the Mathira member of parliament Rigathi Gachagua.
According to the Ruto insiders who spoke to Sonko News, Gachagua is a potential running mate because the man is believed to have very deep pockets unlike the likes of Waiguru who would only be a burden to the DP.
Besides being financially endowed as reported by Citizen Weekly, Gachagua is said to have known the deputy president for the longest time possible starting from their days in Nairobi university to being former president Moi’s key pointmen.
However, the move to groom Gachagua has drawn mixed reactions within the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) camp with some backing it while others opposing it.
Others within Ruto’s camp have opined that he should appoint a running mate outside the central region so that the presidency is not seen as belonging to two communities.
At the same time, the Mathira member of parliament has been one of the ardent and key defenders of William Ruto. Recently, tycoon Gachagua told off the likes of Moses Kuria to stop giving DP Ruto conditions on how to conduct his politics.
“Moses Kuria is a friend of the Deputy President. If he has conditions like those ones, then he is able to walk to his office and discuss with him. But on our side, we have no such conditions. Our issues with the DP is economy, economy, economy and nothing else,” Gachagua took a swipe at Moses Kuria during those days.
Late last year, the legislator was being investigated by the Directorate of Criminal Investigation after he was linked to a 12.5 billion tender scam.
Bank accounts belonging to the legislator were frozen as detectives sought to know the source of some Ksh.12.5 billion that passed through his accounts.
Gachagua was suspected to have used proxies to fraudulently secure tenders using 22 companies with him as the sole beneficiary.
Detectives visited 5 counties, government parastatals and his own National Government Constituency Development Fund where he was suspected to have fraudulently won tenders using 22 companies.
An investigation file seen by Sonko News shows that two hairdressers and a former mobile money transfer agent were awarded multi million-shilling tenders for the National Government and Mathira Constituency CDF. But Gachagua claimed the deals were not fraudulent.
“These people who are being accused of being nobodies and have done alot of business were my employees previously. I have empowered and mentored them and made them grow,” said Gachagua.
The move saw DP Ruto castigate the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), accusing them of being used to settle political scores and punish his close alliies.
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