At least eight Kenyans lost their lives on June 25th. Hundreds were injured. Yet one man who’s never short of words—Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua—has remained strangely silent. His usual fire and fury are missing, not because he has grown modest, but because things didn’t go according to his script.
Gachagua thrives on chaos. Every protest, every teargas canister, every bloodied street corner is political capital to him. He was counting on this latest round of protests to spiral further—hoping for destruction, looting, even an insurrection—to position himself as the “voice of reason” and the savior of Mt. Kenya.
Instead, Gen Z showed discipline, purpose, and maturity. They were organized, peaceful, and driven by principle, not tribalism. His old tricks failed.
This wasn’t a movement he could hijack. The youth weren’t chanting for ethnic interests—they were demanding dignity, economic justice, and accountability. Gachagua had no place in that conversation. That’s why he stayed away from the streets. That’s why he hasn’t issued a statement. His political instincts are wired for drama, not reform.
Now, faced with a powerful citizen-led movement that doesn’t need him, Gachagua is left in an awkward silence. He can’t pretend to lead what he never believed in. He can’t spin it. He can’t own it.
It is shameful that a Deputy President would treat national grief as an inconvenience to his ambitions. Kenyans died. Families are mourning. The country is hurting. Silence is not leadership. Opportunism is not patriotism.
Gachagua must be called out—not just for his silence, but for the dangerous hope he had in seeing this protest burn. For once, the people outwitted the politics. And that’s the silence you hear from him.
