Kapseret Member of Parliament (MP) Oscar Sudi has admitted that they knew DCP Leader Rigathi Gachagua would be a problem when they picked him over Deputy President Kithure Kindiki to be President William Ruto's running mate in 2022.
Speaking during an interview on Tuesday, July 21, Sudi stated that they needed Gachagua because of the numbers he would bring into Ruto's vote basket.
He reiterated that Gachagua had been rejected even by leaders from his region, but he himself saw the kind of influence he had.
The Lawmaker added that while he knew Kindiki on a personal level and understood that he would be a better pick for running mate, picking him would put them at risk of losing the election.
"Gachagua’s people had rejected him; they gave us a history of the things he had done while serving as a DO in Molo and in Kiambu and said they did not like him. But I saw things that most people did not see.
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"I know Kindiki better; I knew him when I was younger, when he was at Moi University, and he is someone I know personally. But if we had chosen Kindiki as the running mate, we would not be where we are today (in government). We would be talking from outside government. That is how I saw it," Sudi added.
The MP added that even as they decided to go with Gachagua, they already knew that they would have to remove him from office once UDA got into power.
"We decided to proceed with Gachagua as the running mate and then “fight” later, and that is exactly what happened. By then, with Kindiki, we would not have gone far. It was better to deal with our problems while we were still here, where we are (in government)," he stated.
His claims came amid Gachagua's chest-thumping that he was the one who handed President William Ruto the presidency in 2022.
The DCP Leader further stated that the same way he got Ruto into office is the same way he would mobilise Kenyans to vote against him in the August 2027 polls.
However, Ruto responded to his former DP, stating that he did not need a helping hand to win over the Mount Kenya Region. He added that he was a political expert and claimed that he would pull a surprise in 2027.
Meanwhile, Uasin Gishu Woman Representative Gladys Boss acknowledged that the UDA party leader had lost a chunk of his support from Mount Kenya.
She stated that the votes lost from the region would be replaced by the votes from the ODM strongholds, even as the Broad-based government seeks to clinch victory in the General Election.
