National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah recounted an incident in which Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua purportedly attacked Digital Strategist Dennis Itumbi.
Speaking during an interview on Spice FM on Tuesday, Ichung’wah said the incident happened during the peak of the 2022 election campaigns. READ FULL STORY
The Kikuyu MP described the event as taking place at an undisclosed State Lodge, detailing how the Deputy President nearly assaulted Itumbi due to his failure to post a tweet that met Gachagua’s expectations.
“I don’t know what you would say of a person holding a higher state office, walks into a meeting at State lodge, grabs by the collar a junior officer by the name of Dennis Itumbi threatening him with physical assault within the precincts of State Lodge on the basis that someone who had no defined role until recently, is not tweeting the things you want him to tweet,” he said.
At the time, Itumbi was significantly engaged in the Kenya Kwanza Campaigns, playing an essential role in facilitating President William Ruto’s presidential win.
Ichung’wah, while characterizing what he views as the deputy president’s vindictive disposition, proceeded to provide additional instances where the deputy president purportedly responded emotionally when individuals ceased to align with his preferences or began associating with those he disapproves of.
He cited an instance in which Gachagua reportedly demeaned his own Member of Parliament, Njuguna Kawanjiku, by publicly disclosing the substantial amount of money he expended on his dowry and wedding, as well as the duration of the ceremony.
“You have heard the Kiambaa MP narrate his ordeal and I can tell you members of parliament especially the ones from the Mt. Kenya region have harrowing stories of what they have had to go through
“I said the other day many of them shudder in fear because of this desperation and attempts to intimidate them,” he added.
Additionally, Ichung’wah also spoke of an incident in which the deputy president used inappropriate language to refer to the Member of Parliament from Baringo, Florence Jematia.
He said Gachagua attacked Jematia solely because of her collaboration with Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro.
He asserted that these tactics of intimidation and manipulation are employed by the deputy president to marginalize the people of Mt. Kenya, exploiting them for his personal political goals.
Furthermore, Ichung’wah criticized the deputy president for failing to fulfill his responsibilities, which include effectively communicating government agendas and policies to the public.
He contended that DP Gachagua resorts to complaining in vernacular media when circumstances do not align with his preferences.
“We have a situation where now we have a deputy president who has never patronized a single national TV station to articulate government policy. He has never been anywhere. defend any government policy, articulate what government was doing, inform Kenyans
“The only time my good friend has been on TV or radio is vernacular radio stations and vernacular TV, not articulating what you are doing as government, but whining and crying about this or that,” he said.
