NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 14 — Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Alliance Spokesperson Makau Mutua now says that President William Ruto is on a mission to weaken Deputy Rigathi Gachagua.
Mutua argued on Saturday that President Ruto wants to retain his influence as the Mt Kenya kingpin ahead of the 2027 General Election views Gachagua as a stumbling block.
The veteran lawyer stated that Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, with whom the DP is perceived to be on a cold war with, is being used to tame the latter.
Gachagua is keen on filling the political leadership vacuum left in the Mt Kenya region with the exit of former President Uhuru Kenyatta from active politics.
What started with the DP reading the riot act to Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja over his plans to relocate matatus from the city centre has now led to a war of words between the two leaders who harbor ambitions of leading the country in the coming years.
Executive Order
Recent changes President Ruto made in an Executive Order (2023) has been interpreted as the recent move to tame the war between Gachagua and Mudavadi.
The Head of State tasked Gachagua to oversee the working relationship between the national and county governments while Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi will oversee liaison between the Executive and the Legislature.
DP Gachagua will oversight coffee sector reforms spearheaded by the Coffee Sub-Sector Reforms Implementation Standing Committee in addition to functions domiciled in the Office of the Deputy President.
The office’s constitutional functions include being a principal assistant to the President and chairing the Inter-Government Budget and Economic Council (IBEC).
Gachagua will also chair the International Development Partnership Coordination and National and County governments Honours Advisory Committee.
President Ruto also mandated Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi to oversee a docket he named Goverment Delivery Services which ostensibly replaces the Presidential Delivery Unit during his predecessor’s era.
The Head of State also defined Mudavadi’s responsibilities to include oversight and implementation of government policies, programs and projects in liaison with the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government led by Prof Kithure Kindiki.
He is also to chair and coordinate the national government legislative agenda across all ministries and state departments.
