If perceptions were a factor in the selection of William Ruto’s running mate for the 2022 presidential election back in May, then outgoing Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua would have failed the first test.
His nomination divided the Mount Kenya region, a stronghold of the United Democratic Alliance and the Kenya Kwanza Alliance, but he overcame his detractors and persisted.
Gachagua is a first-term lawmaker with no history of political activism or national campaigns. Despite his flaws, he is poised to become the second-most powerful man in the country as Deputy president, and possibly the next Mt Kenya Kingpin.
Due to the negative energies generated by his nomination, many Kenyans believed he would perform poorly in the public debate against Martha Karua of Azimio la Umoja One Kenya. However that was not the case as the Mathira MP outshined the senior counsel.
Gachagua was born to Nahashon Gachagua and Martha Kirigo in Hiriga Nyeri County. He is the eighth born in a family of 11 children. He is married to Pastor Dorcas Wanjiku, and they have two children together.
His parents were members of the Mau Mau movement, and his father serviced the fighters’ weapons.
Gachagua began his education at Kabiruini Primary School from 1971 to 1977 before transferring to Kianyaga High School for his O-levels and A-levels.
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In 1985, he enrolled at the University of Nairobi (UoN), from which he graduated in 1988 with a BA in Political Science and Literature. He was the leader of the Nyeri District University Students Association (Ndusa) and the president of The Association of Literature Students.
In 1990, he received paramilitary training at Administration Police Institute. Between 1991 and 1992, he was assigned to the Office of the President, where he was designated as a District Officer. He served as a District Officer in the districts of Kakamega, Ng’arua, and Laikipia.
He attended the Kenya School of Government’s Advanced Public Administration Course between 1999 and 2000. From 2001 to 2006, he served as Uhuru Kenyatta’s Personal Assistant. He came back to the political scene in 2017 and won the Mathira parliamentary seat on a Jubilee ticket.
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