Former Deputy President and DCP Party Leader Rigathi Gachagua slammed former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, calling him ‘irrelevant’ in Kenya’s political discourse.
According to Gachagua, Raila is a person who always wants to be in governments; however, he does not want responsibility.
“Raila is totally irrelevant in Kenya’s political discourse because every election cycle, he loses and finds his way into government. He wants to be in government but doesn’t want responsibility. He is there, but somebody else takes the flak.”
Speaking during a roundtable discussion with Kenyans in Seattle, Washington on Saturday, July 12, Gachagua slammed Raila for “distancing himself” from President William Ruto’s current woes with agitated Kenyans, referring to a statement the former Prime Minister issued on Friday, July 11, faulting President Ruto over shoot-to-maim orders.
“Right now, Raila Odinga finds things are too hot for President Ruto; he tries to distance himself, but if he were a patriotic Kenyan and he meant well for our country, he would disengage from [Ruto]. But he’s talking when his mouth is full,” Gachagua said.
In his statement, Raila emphasised the need to observe the rule of law at all times when it comes to protests or any other environment that requires law enforcement, adding that the shoot-to-maim order is wrong and does not conform with the spirit of the 2010 Constitution.
“As a country, we must at all times opt for the Rule of Law and due process and reject the temptation to give police illegitimate and deadly powers over citizens even when the citizens are perceived to have broken the law,” Raila said in the statement.
Gachagua urged Kenyans to persevere for 2 years before ‘having a dialogue’ in the ballot box in 2027 to fix the issues they face.
“The dialogue we need [as a country] is in the ballot box in 2027. Raila Odinga has been in every dialogue, but the problems of Kenya don’t end. What we need is transformative leadership. It is time we persevere for two years and sort out this matter once and for all,” he concluded.
