There comes a time when silence is betrayal — and that time is now. Kenya must speak up about Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s increasingly reckless and inflammatory rhetoric. His brand of politics is not only outdated but dangerous. He is an ethnic bigot, a demagogue, and a Kikuyu supremacist whose words risk igniting the very flames of civil unrest that Kenya has fought so hard to contain.
Instead of offering leadership grounded in national unity, Gachagua has chosen the low road of tribal mobilisation. He speaks as if the Kikuyu community exists in isolation, constantly threatened, and in need of political siege mentality. He weaponizes fear and identity, pitting one Kenyan community against another, all for personal political survival. That is not leadership. That is incitement.
This country has lost lives and livelihoods in the past because of the kind of divisive politics Gachagua thrives on. Have we learned nothing from 2007? From the post-election violence? From the long journey of healing and reform? Kenya cannot afford to return to a place where ethnicity becomes a weapon and unity a casualty.
Gachagua does not represent the soul of the Kikuyu community. He represents the worst instincts of a desperate man trying to cling to relevance by playing the tribal card. But Kenya has changed. The youth are not buying ethnic fear. The country is hungry for leaders who inspire hope, not hatred.
If Kenya is to move forward, voices like Gachagua’s must be firmly rejected. He is not a symbol of community strength — he is a reminder of what we must leave behind.
Our unity is more important than anyone’s ambition.
