Gachagua Reveals How He Saved Justin Muturi From Being Dropped From Cabinet

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has revealed how he intervened to prevent former Attorney General Justin Muturi from losing his position in the Cabinet during the 2024 reshuffle that followed the Gen-Z protests

Speaking during Muturi’s book launch in Nairobi on Friday, Gachagua recounted tense moments inside State House, where he clashed with President William Ruto over the final list of Cabinet appointees

According to Gachagua, President Ruto had summoned him and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi to accompany him during the announcement of the final batch of Cabinet appointments. However, Gachagua refused to proceed without first reviewing the list

“In the next appointment, he called Musalia and I to flank him. I told him to wait   how do we flank you to announce what we don’t know? If we are part of it, we must see it first,” Gachagua recalled

He said Ruto later returned, visibly angry, and threw the list at him. Upon reviewing it, Gachagua noticed Muturi’s name was missing and had been replaced by a nominee proposed by Embu Governor Cecily Mbarire

“I asked him, ‘Who’s this?’ He said it’s someone Cecily brought. I told him I couldn’t be part of that,” Gachagua said, adding that the president accused him of tribalism before eventually giving in

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“He said, ‘Wewe Rigathi, hii ukabila yako itakufikisha wapi?’ Then he kept quiet for three minutes and told me, ‘Remove that name and put J.B.,’” Gachagua narrated, to laughter from the audience

The former DP said he warned Ruto that he would publicly walk away if Muturi’s name was not reinstated. “That’s how J.B. got his job back,” he added

The event was attended by several opposition leaders, including Kalonzo Musyoka, Eugene Wamalwa, and Fred Matiang’i, among others

Writer : Mweru Mbugua