Former Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu has poured cold water on claims that ex-deputy president Rigathi Gachagua is scheming to kick President William Ruto out of State House.
Speaking on KTN News at the weekend, Wambugu argued that Gachagua’s real goal is to copy Raila Odinga’s long-running strategy – wielding enormous influence without carrying the baggage of the presidency.
“Gachagua wants to have power without accountability. This obsession he has with Raila. Gachagua wants to be Raila. I’m more convinced that Gachagua is interested in becoming a Raila than removing Ruto from office. Raila has been out of office for 20 years, but has been in every government.” Wambugu said.
He predicted that the former DP is building a party powerful enough to elect about five governors, a handful senators, and at few dozen MPs in 2027, giving him king-maker leverage no matter who wins the top seat.
Wambugu even floated the possibility of a Ruto-Gachagua unity pact after the vote, noting that Ruto would be easiest to cut a deal with, since Riggy G would only have to wait 5 years for a shot at the top job, unlike a fresh president where he would have to wait for 10 years.
If you’ve been shouting Wantam without knowing the political endgame to it, former Rigathi Gachagua insider Ngunjiri Wambugu has just dropped a banger on KTN News.
I’ve shared the parts that will make you pinch yourself for being naive and gullible again.
You can thank me now. pic.twitter.com/CeRCDMDgWM
— Gabriel Oguda (@gabrieloguda) June 21, 2025
The ex-legislator’s comments come days after Gachagua’s fiery tour of Meru, where he urged locals to shun a hotel he claims belongs to Ruto. Wambugu warned that such boycott calls could backfire on Mt Kenya’s own business owners, echoing a Saturday night Facebook post chastising his former boss for “short-sighted populism.”
The row has deepened a growing split in central Kenya politics. ANC secretary-general Cleophas Malalah has already branded Gachagua the country’s “de facto opposition leader,” a mantle traditionally held by Raila.
