Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has mastered a rare political art: telling the truth only when it serves his personal interest, and shamelessly lying when it doesn’t. His recent public outbursts paint him as a man suddenly awakened to injustice, exclusion, and government rot — but only because he’s now outside the system he once defended with militant zeal.
When he was in office, Gachagua famously described Kenya as a company with “shareholders”, openly promoting tribalism and exclusion. He never saw a problem with the concentration of power and resources in the hands of a few, as long as he was one of them. Today, he cries foul about regional marginalization — conveniently forgetting that Mt. Kenya holds the Deputy Presidency and seven Cabinet slots. If that’s betrayal, then what was justice when he was second-in-command?
During the 2023 Azimio protests, Gachagua coordinated brutal police crackdowns, labeling demonstrators as criminals and enemies of progress. His government responded to Kenyans’ cries over the cost of living with force and contempt. Now, post-impeachment, he pretends to sympathize with Gen Z and claims to be a defender of democracy. It’s not growth — it’s survival politics.
Gachagua speaks truth only when it paints him as a victim, not when it challenges his past actions. When in power, he used it to silence, divide, and intimidate. Now out of power, he weaponizes “truth” to stay relevant.
This is the danger of a “truthful liar” — a politician who mixes just enough honesty with selective memory to confuse the public. Gachagua isn’t a changed man. He’s simply a bitter one, hoping Kenyans forget who he really was.
But history remembers. And so should we.
