Kaluma blasts Gachagua’s division tactics as Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma launches a scathing attack on former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, accusing him of sowing seeds of tribal discord and gatekeeping the Kikuyu community in a fiery November 20 statement that has reignited unity debates across Kenya.
Speaking at a community forum in his constituency, Kaluma tore into Gachagua’s recent broadsides against opposition heavyweights, warning that rejecting seasoned leaders like Martha Karua, Jeremiah Kioni, Kalonzo Musyoka, and Fred Matiang’i isolates Mount Kenya voters and risks plunging the nation into ethnic silos.
“You cannot claim to lead while pushing everyone away,” Kaluma charged, his words echoing the frustrations of a country still healing from post-election fractures.
The MP’s broadside centred on Gachagua’s pattern of public dismissals, painting him as a lone ranger alienating potential allies in a multiparty democracy.
“You don’t want Martha Karua. You don’t want Kioni. You don’t want Kalonzo. You don’t want Matiang’i. So where exactly are you taking the Kikuyu community?” Kaluma posed, his voice rising amid applause from locals weary of divisive rhetoric.
He accused the ex-DP of behaving like the sole proprietor of Kikuyu interests, speaking over the community’s diverse voices and steering them toward isolation. “Kenya belongs to all of us. No one politician owns a tribe,” Kaluma insisted, invoking the spirit of the 2010 Constitution that enshrined inclusive leadership.
Kaluma’s critique taps into broader anxieties since Gachagua’s October impeachment over graft and insubordination allegations, a fall that splintered Kenya Kwanza’s Mount Kenya base.
The former DP, now rebranding as a regional kingmaker, has lashed out at Azimio figures, labelling them “enemies” unfit for coalitions.
Yet Kaluma, a vocal ODM ally, framed this as dangerous gatekeeping: “Leadership is about building bridges, not burning them. By rejecting everyone, you leave your people stranded.”
He warned of tribal tensions flaring if one voice drowns out others, recalling the 2007-2008 violence born from similar exclusions. Reactions split along familiar lines.
Gachagua loyalists in Nyeri dismissed Kaluma as an “outsider meddling in mountain affairs”, with one local MCA tweeting: “Let Kikuyus decide their path without Luo lectures.”
Azimio supporters, however, hailed the MP’s candour. “Kaluma spoke truth to power. Unity isn’t selective,” posted Nairobi lawyer Waikwa Wanyoike, his thread gaining traction.
Analysts see Kaluma’s salvo as strategic. With 2027 looming, Azimio courts disaffected Mount Kenya voters alienated by Ruto’s perceived sidelining of the region.
Kaluma, known for bold stances on LGBTQ rights and constitutional tweaks, positioned himself as a unifier, “We need leaders who embrace all, not exclude to dominate.”
In a nation of 45 tribes, one MP’s rebuke reminds us: leadership unites or unravels. Will Gachagua heed the call or double down?
