Former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua praises the Raila team in fresh political ripples. On Sunday, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua lauded the late Raila Odinga’s circle of sharp-minded professionals like lawyers and accountants, contrasting it sharply with what he called “tugeges” elected to represent Mt Kenya in Parliament, urging his region to wise up and build a powerhouse squad ahead of 2027.
Gachagua, nursing ambitions from his Nyeri base after his dramatic 2024 impeachment, dropped the line during a lively Inooro TV interview Saturday evening, his tone a mix of admiration and bite.
“We elected tugeges in the National Assembly and Senate,” he said, the Kikuyu slang for small-time thinkers landing like a backhanded slap to his own region’s lawmakers. “Raila had brilliant lawyers like Orengo, Sifuna and Babu Owino while in Mt Kenya, I get the likes of Kawanjiku, Wamatinga and Wamakeki,” said Gachagua.
“I admire Raila for the top-notch leaders ODM sent to parliament. They protected him for 30 years.” The clip, shared widely on X and TikTok, blends nostalgia for Odinga’s tactical brilliance with a subtle dig at Mt Kenya’s current crop, often accused of flip-flopping in the Ruto era.
Raila, who passed on October 15 from cardiac complications, surrounded himself with a brain trust that Gachagua envied openly: legal eagles like James Orengo, economic whizzes such as Edwin Sifuna, and strategists who turned underdog bids into nail biters.
“Those were great minds, elected to serve, not just survive,” Gachagua mused, his eyes lighting up as he recounted how Odinga’s team shielded him through arrests, exiles, and election wars.
Now, with ODM fracturing post-Raila, Gachagua’s plea rings tactical: Mt Kenya needs its own A-team, not “tugeges” chasing handouts or headlines.
“Lawyers, accountants, engineers, and doctors, get in the ring,” he rallied, pitching a professional overhaul to reclaim the region’s clout, sidelined since his fallout with President Ruto.
The timing? Pure politics. Just days after Uhuru Kenyatta’s Bondo condolences visit, Gachagua’s nod to Raila softens edges for potential Azimio ties, while jabbing local MPs like Ndindi Nyoro or Kimani Ichung’wah as the “tugeges” who backed his ouster.
The Gachagua-Raila team tug-of-war comparison isn’t a mere mic drop; it’s a manifesto in motion, blending respect for a rival’s legacy with a blueprint for his own comeback. In a Kenya where politics plays like chess with ethnic pawns, will Mt Kenya elect minds or memes?