Kenyan Bulletin has learnt that Deputy President Hon. Rigathi Gachagua is bankrolling former Kakamega senator Cleophas Malala to neutralize the growing influence of Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi in Western region as part of the DP’s schemes to win presidency in 2032 elections.
Gachagua is splashing millions on the over-ambitious politician who wants to overtake his political seniors and become the next Luhya kingpin.
The newfound political relationship between Malala and the country’s second in command is what has led to the return of the famous Cleo Malala Super Cup that has now increased its coverage beyond Kakamega to five counties from the Western region.
Gachagua who is also busy buying out Jubilee politicians from Mt. Kenya region believes that the vocal Malala will push his interests in the vote rich Western region as he recruits his team of sycophants.
The DP is said to have zero trust on Mt Kenya politicians who were groomed by President William Ruto in UDA and instead, has opted to form his own new team.
He recently hosted Mt Kenya MPs at his Harambee Annex office during a politically charged meeting disguised as an event to discuss development in the respective areas of representation and unity irrespective of political affiliations.
Gachagua has become a generous politician lately and he is willing to splash money on anyone committed to play on his political wing. He is funding Malala to crisscross Western Kenya and undermine his former party boss, H.E Mudavadi, who is also bagging ODM politicians, one after the other.
The under-hand dealings between Malala and Gachagua have prompted President Ruto to offer the former senator state job to keep him busy.
The president is not amused with the developmentS given his open preference for Mudavadi is cool, experienced, committed and collected. Many political experts opine that Ruto is likely to settle on Mudavadi as his running mate during his reelection bid in 2027.
Meanina Gachagua is only using Malala as part of his plan B. The sour relationship between the DP and Mudavadi began before the last general elections when Gachagua threw tantrums when Ruto proposed Mudavadi to be his running mate.
He protested and maintained that Ruto’s running mate had to come from the Mt Kenya region and not anywhere else. He was also against Kithure Kindiki being the running mate as he argued that he was an excellent mobilizer of the populous Kikuyu community.
But Gachagua got angrier when Ruto made Mudavadi the PCS and assigned him more roles that makes him appear to be overpowering the DP in Kenya Kwanza government.
Some of the responsibilities handed to Mudavadi by President Ruto include chairing and coordinating national government legislative agenda, assisting the president and deputy president to coordinate, supervise ministries and departments, overseeing the implementation of national government policies, programmes and projects, chairing principal secretaries’ committees.
Under the Executive Order 1 of 2023, Ruto also mandated Mudavadi to oversee the Government Delivery Services which replaced the Presidential Delivery Unit.
Political leaders from Western region raised concerns that Malala is being used to antagonize Mudavadi who is fast emerging as the bona fide king of the Mulembe nation.
The former senator was instrumental in the coalition deal between the then ANC leader Mudavadi and Ruto’s UDA party, leading to the birth of the Kenya Kwanza coalition, but he was bought off then he abandoned Mudavadi at the eleventh hour.
He has kept distance as politicians unite to repulse Gachagua against Mudavadi in a bitter war of words that erupted between leaders from Western and Mt Kenya regions over supremacy wars between Gachagua and Mudavadi.
Political experts argue that President Ruto will eventually offer Malala a job to tame him and scuttle Gachagua’s activities in Western region.
The plan to hoodwink Malala with a job is also being pushed by Central Organisation of Trade Unions secretary-general Francis Atwoli.
Atwoli has pleaded with president to consider Malala and former CS Rashid Echesa for jobs while lamenting that the two have been disturbing him because they are unemployed and idling.
