The besieged Kenyan second-in-command, widely reported to have fallen out with his boss, William Ruto, pleaded with the Head of State to pardon him if he and his spouse, Dorcas Rigathi, had done anything to offend him.
"I want to say to my brother President William Ruto, if, in our zeal to work, I have wronged you, please find it in your heart to forgive me. If my spouse, in her duties with the boy child, has wronged you in any way, please find it in your heart to forgive her," Gachagua pleaded during a church service at the National Prayer Altar in Nairobi.
Gachagua also made a similar passionate appeal to members of Parliament in an attempt to make amends ahead of the consideration of his impeachment motion.
In an apparent reference to his controversial remarks that the government was like a company where those who voted for the current administration hold more shares than others, Gachagua pleaded with Kenyans to pardon him, insisting that he did not mean to cause ethnic divisions but intended to appreciate those who voted for him and Ruto into power.
"Probably, you find that in appreciating our people and the support they gave the president and I, our utterances made you feel uncomfortable; we did not mean bad; we were appreciating the people who voted for us. If you feel that we rubbed you the wrong way, please find it in your heart to forgive me," he further appealed.
Gachagua is facing ouster two years after assuming office in a joint ticket with President Ruto.
The impeachment motion, tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, lists 11 grounds for his removal from office.
Among the charges are allegations of dividing Kenyans along ethnic lines, undermining President Ruto's administration, and other state agencies.
Other charges include amassing wealth illegally, bullying, and intimidating state officers. In one incident, Gachagua allegedly intimidated a contractor to divert materials meant for the construction of a public road to tarmac a private road leading to his beach resort in Kenya's coastal region.
Parliament approved the motion to table and debate it after garnering signatures from 291 MPs. Public participation for the motion was conducted on Friday and Saturday ahead of the debate on Tuesday.
The motion must garner the support of 233 MPs, representing two-thirds of the total 349 MPs, before being transmitted to the Senate for consideration.
Gachagua, who brought in significant votes for Ruto from Kenya's populous Mt. Kenya region in the August 2022 election, insists that he is innocent. He has dismissed the impeachment plot as a political witch hunt.
Wycliffe Nyamasege
Source : https://en.igihe.com/news/article/embattled-kenyan-deputy-president-gachagua-apologises
