Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is a man under political siege.

With just days left to the unveiling of his 2027 political vehicle, Gachagua was yesterday officially kicked out from the ranks of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party as the Deputy Party leader, and in his place, Kithure Kindiki was installed.

The move, coming on a day his political fate was to be decided by the Courts, only served to sustain an attack launched by the President and his allies a day earlier when they termed him incompetent, a tribalist and corrupt.

“Pursuant to and in accordance with Section 20(2) of the Political Parties Act, 2011, the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party hereby notifies its members and the general public of the following changes in the office of the Deputy party leader,” read a notice by the ruling party.

“…Effective immediately, Prof. Kithure Kindiki is appointed as the 1st Deputy Party Leader of the United Democratic Alliance Party on an interim basis,” it added.

The notice dated January 23, 2025 was signed by national chairperson Cecily Mbarire and Secretary General Hassan Omar.

Gachagua’s removal is now expected to be ratified by the Registrar of Political parties following an earlier decision by UDA’s National Executive Committee(NEC) to remove him on November 11, 2024.

The NEC’s resolution was premised on the party’s Constitution which requires that the Deputy Party leader is also the Deputy President.

Gachagua’s dismissal was the second blow in two days after President Ruto led his lieutenants on an assault of the character of his former Deputy.

Ruto, while speaking during his development tour of the Western region, launched a veiled attack at the ousted DP accusing him of being incompetent, corrupt and fanning divisive tribal politics.

“We have a broad-based government that is uniting all Kenyans, Those tribal leaders, people involved in shareholding schemes, those who perpetuated conman-ship, incompetence, and ethnic- driven politics have no place in our country. Kenya is a place where all people are equal, and we must walk together,”Ruto stated.

“We gave some people jobs, but they were incompetent, corrupt, and propagated divisive politics. Now, we are united as a people, and Kenya will march forward as an indivisible team,”he added.

And in quick succession, his critics hammered their criticism against Gachagua.

Sources who spoke to The Standard revealed that the sustained public attacks on Gachagua had been informed by growing concerns that his political influence was growing beyond the Mt. Kenya region and there was need to nip it in the bud.

“The government had dismissed Gachagua as a tribal leader but he has started looking outwards and if left unchecked, he could be an impediment to Ruto’s 2027 ambitions,”said a source on condition of anonymity.

In particular, the source said, Ruto’s camp had grown wary of the Wamunyoro meetings chaired by Gachagua given that they were gaining traction and were even pulling leaders and delegations from other regions such as Kajiado (yesterday), Isiolo and even Western.

But amid the mounting onslaught, Gachagua has employed a change of tack in a bid to dethrone his former boss rendering him a “one-term president.”

Yesterday, Gachagua employed a new method of political outreach by tapping into TikTok to directly engage with Kenyans. There, he delved into topics such as the controversial Social Health Authority(SHA), the face-off between Ruto and CS Justin Muturi and other developments in the political realm.

His move to use the now popular platform revealed his strategy to target the youth demographic and Kenyans living in the diaspora ahead of the 2027 general polls. According to data relayed by various institutions, TikTok had 10.6 million registered users in Kenya as of early 2024.

Having been a victim of physical attacks when he attended a function lately, Gachagua intends to leverage technology in casting his political net wider.

“It is unnecessary to harass Muturi. They’re saying that he’s the one who organised people to reject Ruto’s condolence message. That is not true, CS Muturi was abused by the president,” Gachagua revealed during the tiktok live session.

Referencing an incident during the burial of Eric Mutugi, son of former Embu Senator Lenny Kivuti where mourners heckled Muturi as he prepared to read the President’s condolence message, Gachagua claimed that President Ruto had soon after sent Muturi “abusive” messages.

“He wrote very offensive messages, accusing him of inciting people. That is unfair to the CS. It is the people of the mountain who rejected because of betrayal and deception,” he added.

Gachagua further criticized the new Social Health Authority (SHA), terming is as a rushed and poorly implemented health system that has failed to deliver on its promises to the citizens.

He singled out the program’s inefficiencies saying it was costly- which has led to struggle of those seeking medical services.

He questioned the need for the new healthcare system which is at a cost of Ksh. 104 billion, adding that the experts had earlier recommended for more cost effective alternative of revamping the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) that was being used before the rollout of the new healthcare system.

“According to experts, it was possible to reform and improve NHIF at a cost of about Ksh. 800 million,” the former DP stated.

Gachagua advocated for a return to the former healthcare system NHIF claiming that the current SHA system is surrounded by a lot of challenges which has made it difficult for many Kenyans to access healthcare services.

“The government can still revert to NHIF which had a clear path for reform at a much lower cost,” he emphasized.

However, President Ruto has continued to champion the SHA program as a cornerstone for his administration’s push for Universal Health Coverage.

In a recent speech, Ruto reinforced the importance of ensuring all Kenyans have access to affordable health care.

“We have health insurance for all. We cannot continue with a system where only few can afford treatment while others are forced to sell their land or cattle to access healthcare,” Ruto stated.

Additional reporting by Noel Nabiswa