Outspoken politician Moses Kuria now says he will never forgive former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua for the crime of what he terms as eroding the Mt. Kenya people’s value and reducing their brand identity.

Kuria, who serves as President William Ruto’s Senior Economic Advisor, accused Gachagua of going back on the promises the Kenya Kwanza administration made to the people during the campaign period.

He intimated that Gachagua became too greedy for immediate power just two years into their reign, at the expense of the people and even the government in which he served, thereby indirectly orchestrating his own impeachment and subsequent political downfall.

“From my community, people in this country, unfairly so, have always said Kikuyus and Mt. Kenya people cannot vote for another person from another tribe. (In) 2022 we debunked that, and our brand value as a community went up. I felt good to be a Kikuyu,” he said in an interview on Citizen TV’s JKLive show on Wednesday night.

“Two years later, no matter how much the provocation, we now go again and diminish that brand. People were telling us that Uhuru Kenyatta, despite everything, he was patient. That adds to our brand value. I feel so ashamed and embarrassed to be associated with a [person] that says that I cannot wait for five years…that is a serious erosion of the brand value of my community, and I will never forgive Rigathi Gachagua for that. Because this is a brand that we just salvaged from an unfair perception. After only two years, how do I now run away from the commitment that we made together?”

While terming Gachagua’s eventual removal from office by both Houses of Parliament as an “own goal,” Kuria said the former DP brought trouble upon himself when he allegedly started demeaning, insulting and blackmailing legislators.

He went on to state that despite initially opposing the planned impeachment, even before the motion for removal was tabled, he was eventually left with no other choice but to back it solely based on Gachagua’s own actions and miscalculations.

“Rigathi Gachagua is my friend, we served together; I was his boss in the Transport committee in Parliament, where I was the Vice Chair, because I was his senior. His late brother was my friend. We campaigned together; we were on that truck together around the country campaigning for Kenya Kwanza government,” he stated.

“He was my boss in Cabinet; we had our own differences of opinion, but we never disagreed publicly or anything. I treated Rigathi Gachagua with nothing but absolute respect and reverence as my boss. Unfortunately, the impeached former Deputy President did not do himself a lot of favours. And for me, a time came where even though I had said I would not support that impeachment, when I was left with zero options.”

He added: “I’m not a Member of Parliament anymore, even when I was a minister my impeaching authority was Parliament. So, when somebody goes out there and says ‘By December, all of you will be dead men and women walking,’ is that very wise? That was my first problem. These people (MPs) may not be the best…they may not be as experienced and as old as we are…but we owe it to them to mentor them. So, my first point of departure was threatening and blackmailing leaders, instead of helping them to grow. That was crime number one.”