Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is in a difficult situation where, no matter which course he takes, he would face grave dangers to his political future.
He has two primary alternatives now that a vote to impeach him has the support of about 142 members of Parliament: either resign to protect his future or face the impeachment process in the hopes of receiving a legal reprieve if ousted.
Political observers speculate that he may be able to navigate through this issue by skilfully challenging his adversaries, indicating that his condition may not be as grave as it first appears.
Renowned attorney Makau Mutua has suggested that Gachagua think about stepping down before to the start of the impeachment process.
A management and leadership instructor named Gitile Naituli notes that President Ruto’s silence on the matter makes any attempt at reconciliation more difficult and suggests that Gachagua’s best course of action could be to take legal defences.
“The DP is obviously short on numbers, therefore it will be difficult to persuade Parliament to save him. As he prepares his exit strategy, he can use leverage to postpone the removal until after the motion is tabled, according to Prof. Naituli.
Naituli notes that emotions play a big role in Kenyan politics and that Gachagua can run a public campaign in which he presents himself as a victim, especially in the Mt Kenya region.
He can present himself as the victim of duplicity and dishonesty. By doing this, he may portray all elected politicians in Mount Kenya who disagree with him as enemies of the people and gain favour with them in order to stay in politics, he added.
Additionally, the don says that by doing this, the DP will be able to take advantage of potential weaknesses in the current administration and convince them to think twice before allowing him to depart.
âGachagua can simply win this war by losing. He can win by escalating the conflict. He knows dirty deals of this government which they wouldnât want him to expose. If they insist on impeaching him, he can spoil the party for all to lose,â he said.
By Standard