Gachagua set to return from US next week amid arrest claims

After spending one month and twelve days engaging in rigorous political activities with Kenyans living in the United States, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is set to return to the country on Thursday next week.

Gachagua announced on his social media platforms yesterday that he had cut short his planned two-month visit to the US to focus on campaigning for his Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) candidates in Banisa, Magharini, Malava, and Mbeere North, where the party will be fielding parliamentary aspirants. 

“I regret being unable to visit the scheduled remaining States since I need to get back home to join our party, DCP, in preparation for the upcoming by-elections in various parts of our country. I am sorry to cut my trip short; my profound apologies to the organisers and Kenyans whom I was to meet; the same has been rescheduled to early next year,” he said in a statement.

Before his return, Gachagua will attend a farewell dinner in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, on August 17, with tickets priced at Sh12,900 per person.

DCP deputy party leader Cleophas Malala said Gachagua’s flight would land at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on August 21 at exactly 12 noon, while listing the achievements of the US trip.

“During his highly successful USA visit, Gachagua, met Kenyans in Seattle, Boston, Dallas, Kansas City, and Baltimore, launching DCP satellite offices in key states, including Texas and Washington. He rallied our brothers and sisters abroad to prepare for active political participation and to return home to help rebuild this nation from the ruins of corruption and misrule,” he said.

Continuing Gachagua’s criticism of President William Ruto over alleged corruption, Malala accused State House of becoming “less a seat of national leadership and more a theatre of betrayal – a scene of crime where backroom deals are struck, not in service of the Kenyan people, but in league with butchers of children in neighbouring countries.”

Responding to  threats of arrest from Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, Malala alleged a poisoning plot against Gachagua, as well as a plan to divert his incoming flight to Mombasa or Kisumu to abduct him and cut him off from his supporters.

“Intelligence reaching us points to a scheme so evil, so cowardly, that it chills the soul. Their intent is to subject our party leader to slow and harm him. Their plan upon our party leader's arrival at JKIA is to abduct, intimidate, brutalise, and eventually place him under house arrest, cut him off from his supporters, and deny him the right to address the nation. They want to kill his voice and his body at the same time,” he claimed.

He further warned that diverting Gachagua’s plane would “not only disrupt the travel plans of innocent passengers but also risk damaging Kenya’s foreign relations.”

“It is part of a sustained campaign to cripple the opposition with brutality. Our leaders have been tear-gassed, beaten up, and humiliated in several parts of our country, including Subukia, Kakamega, Gilgil, Murang'a, and even within the walls of sacred places of worship. This is the mark of a regime that fears the people's will and seeks to drown in violence.”

He added “We are calling upon our supporters in Nairobi, Kisumu, and Mombasa to turn up in unprecedented numbers. This is not just a welcome. It is a statement to the world that Kenya belongs to her people, not to a clique of power-hungry men who weaponise the State against its citizens.

Four days ago, Murkomen had declared that Gachagua must honour a summons to record a statement over his remarks alleging that the Kenyan government was working with al-Shabaab. Murkomen later said it behooved Gachagua to put his claims on record.

On Monday, Murkomen reiterated that Gachagua should present himself to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations upon his return, saying he could not be allowed to tarnish the country’s image and that lawful action would be taken against him.

“We expect him to tell us which al-Shabaab we negotiated with and who was involved, because we must stop the propaganda going on outside the country,” Murkomen said.

Gachagua dismissed the directive, claiming the investigation had been initiated by the US government and that he would cooperate with American authorities rather than Kenyan agencies.

“We cannot help in any investigations because the Kenyan government has not initiated any investigations against William Ruto. The people who have initiated the investigation are the American Senate, so if there is a need for us to help in investigations, we will help the American Senate, not the Kenyan government,” Gachagua said on Saturday.

On Tuesday in Nakuru, Murkomen appeared to backtrack on the idea of arrest, suggesting instead that Gachagua might need a mental health assessment.

“It is he who voluntarily said he had information about the Kenyan authorities engaging with al-Shabaab. It is not a question of being arrested; if he is patriotic, he should record a statement with the DCI.

“The statements from Gachagua point to two possibilities: either he is a serious pathological liar seeking cheap political publicity, or he is an acute case for a mental health worker – in which case it might be unnecessary to arrest him, but rather guide his loved ones to take him to a mental hospital,” Murkomen said.