Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua changed his mind and made a decision to attend the deputy presidential debate that will be held on Tuesday July 19 at the Catholic University from 5 pm.
The debate will be held in two sessions. The first session will see Justina Wamae of Roots party face Agano’s Ruth Mucheru while Gachagua and Azimio’s Martha Karua will face each other in the final session.
Earlier on, Gachagua and his boss William Ruto had indicated that they will not be attending the debates, deputy presidential and presidential one respectively, accusing a number of main media houses, especially Royal Media Services, of being biased against them.
Their allies have been also advising them to boycott the debate arguing that the media has not been treating them fairly when it comes to covering their campaigns and also doing stories that paint the team in a negative way.
It was evident that Gachagua had made a U-turn on not attending the debate when he showed up at Catholic University on Monday evening for the briefing on ground rules prior to the debate.
The first reason why he changed his mind is that the debate will give him and his team an opportunity to reach more people, especially the lower class people that Kenya Kwanza has a huge plan for. The group mostly relies on the TV and Radios for information. They are not always updated of their every move because most of them don’t have smartphones and can’t afford data bundles especially with the hard economic times.
Secondly, Gachagua was forced to attend the debate to ensure that Azimio does not carry the day. If Rigathi fails to show up it would show that he is not brave enough to face Karua and that won’t be a good show for Kenya Kwanza. Missing out on it means that he will be doing a favor to their opponent. Azimio will also have ample time to sell their agenda without being challenged.
Thirdly, Kenya Kwanza started losing numbers when Gachagua was named the running mate especially because of the negative publicity surrounding his time as a District Officer. He had to show up for the debate first to prove that he has respect for Kenyans and to also win the trust of the voters that they have lost. This is an opportunity to paint himself in a positive manner and explain why he is the best choice and Karua is not.
The debate is also an opportunity to fight for the undecided voters who are key in determining who wins elections. Missing the debate would mean that Kenya Kwanza has lost another opportunity to convince more voters to be on their side thus giving their main opponents an upper hand.
Finally, DP Ruto and Kenya Kwanza in general are trying to prove their opponents wrong. There have been reports that Ruto is ashamed of his deputy and that is why he has not been accompanying him to some key functions. Some have been saying that Gachagua will be operating from behind the scenes in case they are elected. Others claim that when Gachagua is given a microphone he only speaks ‘nonsense’. The debate is an opportunity for Gachagua to showcase his prowess.
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