Audio By Vocalize
DCP Leader Rigathi Gachagua.[File, Standard]
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua remains impeached. He is therefore legally barred from the 2027 presidential ballot. The Senate removed him, the courts upheld it, and that position stands unless overturned. To conclude, however, that his political force is neutered is wilful self-deception. He is the apple of his community's eye and likely to shape Mount Kenya politics with consequence.
In Dickens' Oliver Twist, "the law is an ass", it can defy common sense. Former Governor Hassan Joho endured a circus over an alleged fake degree; Nairobi's Sakaja faced the same. Yet Joho served two terms and is now Cabinet Secretary, while Sakaja governs. Were their papers unjustly questioned? Judges know, but public opinion knows better.
For Gachagua, Suna East MP Junet Mohamed says legislators were bribed to impeach him. In the Bible, soldiers guarding Jesus' tomb were paid to lie about the risen Christ. If Riggy G reaches the Supreme Court, he could be cleared to run. Who knows, he might be cleared to run if he presents his nomination papers before the IEBC next year. For President Ruto, the more the candidates, the merrier.
