Trust is the currency of leadership. Without it, authority becomes coercion and power turns predatory. For many Kenyans, Rigathi Gachagua’s history makes him deeply untrustworthy—not because of political rivalries today, but because of the role he played during some of the country’s darkest moments.
In 1992, as Kenya fought for multiparty democracy, Gachagua served as a District Officer under the Moi regime. This was not a neutral administrative era. District Officers were key instruments of state power, deployed to suppress dissent and secure political outcomes. In the Rift Valley, they were central to enforcing order through fear rather than justice.
Gachagua was widely regarded as a rotational DO, moved deliberately to volatile areas to “fix” what needed fixing. One such place was Molo, specifically Kamwaura village, where communities suffered violence and displacement during the politically charged period. To this day, many remember that local administration did not protect civilians—it crushed them. There is no widely remembered instance where Gachagua stood between the state and the vulnerable. What lingers instead is the perception of merciless enforcement.
That past cannot be dismissed as ancient history. It speaks to character. A person shaped by a system that rewarded loyalty to power over humanity does not suddenly transform when the political wind changes. This is why many Kenyans struggle to believe his present-day populism.
When Gachagua calls others “traitors,” the irony is striking. He understands betrayal intimately, having operated in a system where communities were sacrificed for political expediency. It is often those most experienced in such tactics who wield the word most aggressively.
Today, Gachagua’s politics appears transactional. He is using Wantam as a cash crop, to be harvested quickly by calling out President Ruto’s administration. That mindset explains Gachagua’s urgency, the hostility, and the absence of humility when practicing his politics.
Leadership demands moral clarity. Until there is genuine reckoning with the past, Kenyans have every reason to withhold their trust.
Gachagua can’t be trusted. He is another political criminal taking advantage of Kenyans political emotions.
