Party of National Unity (PNU) leader Peter Munya has ruled out backing former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua for the presidency.
In an interview on Wednesday, August 5, Munya said he hopes Gachagua does not vie for the presidency because he has demonstrated dictatorial tendencies that Kenyans have been criticizing in the current administration.
"I’m hoping Gachagua is not a presidential candidate because I would not support that kind of a person to run the country. Those dictatorial tendencies are the same ones we are saying we don’t want in the current government," he said.
Munya clarified that his remarks were not driven by personal differences, saying he respects Gachagua and appreciates his efforts in exposing shortcomings within the current government.
However, Munya insisted that Gachagua should stop threats directed at others if he hopes to work effectively with political allies.
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"We don’t have anything personal against Gachagua; we respect him. He has done a lot of work in terms of exposing the failures of the current government.
"We respect him and want to work with him, but the tendency to want to be a dictator and issuing threats to other people, he needs to stop it," he added.
Munya further accused Gachagua of being a bully, citing remarks he made about Murang'a Governor Irungu Kang'ata and linking them to an incident in which the governor was attacked in Ol Kalou.
"Gachagua is a bully. You saw when he talked about the Governor of Murang’a calling him cocky, and the governor was attacked by goons when he went to Ol Kalou," he further said.
Munya urged Gachagua to adopt a more respectful and courteous approach when engaging with fellow leaders and the public, saying such conduct would strengthen his leadership and relationships.
"We think he needs to act more responsibly when dealing with leaders and all human beings. Use your language in a more courteous manner, you’ll go further than you have gone," he noted.
At the same time, Munya explained PNU's poor performance in the Ol Kalou by-election.
Munya revealed that the party had advised Edwin Kariri against contesting for the seat, noting that he insisted on running despite being informed that his chances of winning were slim.
According to Munya, the candidate argued that participating in the by-election would help him gain valuable political experience.
"A young man who is in university came to my office and wanted to vie; we told him we are in the United Opposition, we want one candidate, and he was unlikely to win.
"He asked us, 'Are you going to deny me the right to participate to get experience of running merely because I will not win?' I was touched, and we decided to let him run," he explained.
Munya noted that he did not campaign for Kariri during the by-election, adding that the party later tried to persuade Kariri to withdraw from the race.
"Did you see me in Ol Kalou campaigning for him? In fact, at one point we persuaded him to step down. He discussed it with the DCP candidate that he wanted to publicly step down, but the DCP candidate advised him not to," he added.
