Gachagua: I told Mt Kenya MPs to vote Kanini Kega to EALA

Rigathi Gachagua, the deputy president, has disclosed that he convinced Mt. Kenya MPs to support the election of former Kieni MP Kanini Kega to the EALA.

Speaking on Friday during a funeral service in Chuka, Gachagua declared that politics had ended and that the nation's reconciliation was now their top priority.

"I spoke to the leaders from the mountain, I told them this Kanini Kega was insulting me and President William Ruto (but) they should vote for him," Gachagua said.

"Did they or did they not vote for him?" he posed. "That's the new Kenya we want," he added.

Kega was in the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition under ODM leader Raila Odinga, the bitter rival of Kenya Kwanza at the August 9 polls.

He was one of the few leaders from the Mt Kenya region who campaigned vehemently against Ruto and Gachagua by urging the electorate not to vote for the Kenya Kwanza pair.

But Gachagua said all that is now behind them and all they want is to unify the country and the central Kenya region. 

"Siasa imeisha, sisi mambo yaliyopita hatutaki kufuata, na hasaa hii mlima yetu, tunataka tuunganishe tusiunganishe?" he asked the mourners.

(We don't want to focus on bygones, and especially the mountain, don't you want us to unite it?)

Kega scored 197 votes to be elected one of the four EALA MPs from the Azimio camp.

He garnered 29 votes in Senate and 168 votes in the National Assembly.

Gachagua added that they will progressively work on ensuring Kega and other 'rebel' leaders from the mountain including Sabina Chege join the government side.

The DP said by virtue of the Mt Kenya voting overwhelmingly for Ruto, they earned the community longstanding respect that will last for over 200 years to come.

He said the region had earned a bad name based on the allegations that it would never support one who is not their own to State House.

"Sisi tumeonyesha ya kwamba tukipenda wewe tumekupenda, hatutaki kujua umetoka wapi bora wewe ni mtu ya kazi (We have shown that once we love you we have loved you and we don't care where you are from so long as you can get the job done)," he said.

"Sisi si watu ya kurudi nyuma. Tukiambiana na wewe tuko pamoja, tuko pamoja (We don't renege on our word, when we say we are with you we are with you ," he added.

Gachagua spoke during the funeral service of the daughter of Chuka Igamba-Ng'ombe MP Patrick Munene.

The MP's 10-year old daughter, Natasha Makena, died after a long illness.