The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
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Kiambaa MP John Kawanjiku has stated that he owes no political loyalty to former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, asserting that he has “settled all his political debts” and will not be subjected to external pressure.
Kawanjiku said Gachagua has long assumed that his support during the MP campaign entitled him to unwavering loyalty.
“I think the former Deputy President believes he campaigned for me single-handedly and that I owe him my loyalty,” Kawanjiku said in an interview. “But I told him some time ago that I have already paid my political debts, and the pressure has been enough.”
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The first-term legislator recalled a tense encounter with Gachagua in 2023, during which he was rebuked and asked to leave the Deputy President’s office at Harambee House Annexe.
“At the time, we were discussing generational change,” Kawanjiku said. “When Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro visited my constituency, Gachagua called me angrily over the phone and later asked me to leave his office.”
He described a moment in Gachagua’s office where, while waiting with other leaders to lobby for an appointment, Gachagua suddenly raised his voice at him.
“In the holding room, he asked me abruptly what I was doing there,” Kawanjiku recalled. “Even the security officers were shocked. Leaders like Murang’a Governor Irungu Kang’ata, Naivasha MP Jane Kihara, and Thika Town MP Alice Ng’ang’a were present, and everyone was surprised. I honestly didn’t know what I had done wrong.”
Kawanjiku said the conflict arose from his association with Ndindi Nyoro, whom Gachagua regards as a political rival.
“The issue was that I hosted Nyoro in my constituency,” he explained. “I asked him, do you want to control who I can associate with?”
He clarified that the Kiharu meeting had focused on training MPs to effectively utilise the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF).
“When I became MP, Gachagua himself advised me to learn from Nyoro’s model in Kiharu, which uses labour-based projects to deliver more with less. I even took my team there to learn. Now he’s upset that I attended? It makes no sense,” Kawanjiku said.
He also dismissed claims by Gachagua that people at the meeting had criticised him.
“No one criticised him. They were simply recognising the potential in this young man, Ndindi Nyoro,” he added.
Last weekend, Gachagua, leader of DP, criticised MPs from the Mt Kenya region, calling them weak compared to those from Nyanza, and specifically mentioned Kawanjiku and Wamatinga as examples.
