Nominated Member of Parliament (MP) Sabina Chege has weighed in on the political future of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, saying that while the impeachment process effectively bars him from holding any public or political office, writing him off entirely would be a serious mistake.
“I would not say he’s politically dead. You cannot ignore Gachagua, you cannot wish him away,” Sabina said on TV47’s Breakfast Show.
Sabina noted that Gachagua’s announcement of a 45-day retreat to Wamunyoro is not a sign of being in a political oblivion but a calculated strategy to consolidate his base and build influence from the ground up.
The former Murang’a County Woman Representative was clear that the impeachment of a deputy president carries far-reaching consequences, noting that unlike governors, who face a 10-year ban, an impeached deputy president is permanently barred from holding public office.
“Once it’s done at the Senate, once the impeachment is done, it’s very final. You can’t even be a political party leader. You can’t hold any political party leadership. You cannot hold any public office in Kenya,” she said, adding that this is why some argued that resigning would have been the better option, since a resignation preserves the right to run for office again.
However, Sabina said the court case is far from over, with Gachagua indicating he will challenge the ruling all the way to the Court of Appeal and potentially the Supreme Court.
She acknowledged that a higher court could theoretically alter the outcome.
“Unless the court says otherwise, it is a finality,” she said.
Despite the legal constraints, Sabina said Gachagua still has real political utility.
“In Kenya, you don’t have to hold a political office to matter. You can still be a kingmaker,” she noted.
She also credited him with a skill many politicians underestimate, the ability to play the victim convincingly.
“Rigathi is very good at playing victim. And there is a possibility that he’s going to have a following of people who feel like justice was denied. He’s very good at that. Very, very good at that,” she said.
Sabina warned the government side against being dismissive.
“The biggest undoing has been people saying ‘I don’t care.’ When somebody is down, you don’t have to keep hitting hard, you only give an advantage to the person who is now acting as a victim,” she cautioned.
Sabina also dismissed Gachagua’s claim that he delivered four million votes to President William Ruto, arguing that Mount Kenya’s support cannot be attributed to one individual.
“This notion that he created, that I brought William Ruto four million votes, is very far from the truth. What he really needs to work on is this block he calls the mountain that he assumes he has. That is what he needs to work on for him to survive politics,” she concluded.
