Gachagua Meets Raila At Mau Mau Brigadier's Funeral [PHOTOS & VIDEO]

The meeting on Friday, August 25 is the first between the two since the third wave of the anti-government protests in which the two have not been seeing each other eye to eye.

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Aug 25, 2023 - 12:17
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Gachagua Meets Raila At Mau Mau Brigadier's Funeral [PHOTOS & VIDEO]
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua with Raila Odinga in Mombasa on September 16, 2022. /FACEBOOK.RIGATHI GACHAGUA

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Azimio la Umoja leader, Raila Odinga, are currently attending the funeral of the late Mau Mau Brigadier Kiboko (John Njigoya Kagwe)in Nyandarua County.

The meeting on Friday, August 25 is the first between the two since the third wave of the anti-government protests in which the two have not been seeing each other eye to eye.

Raila was seen in a video arriving at the funeral accompanied by a team including Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo. He was welcomed by cheers from a crowd as family members guided him to the tent where mourners had gathered.

The former Prime Minister exchanged pleasantries with local leaders and greeted people who were in the tent before taking a seat.

DP Rigathi Gachagua and Raila Odinga both attending the burial of freedom fighter Brigadier John Kiboko in Nyandarua on August 25, 2023. /RIGATHI GACHAGUA.TWITTER

The Deputy President minutes later walked in and waved to the people. The speakers at the event have both acknowledged the presence of Gachagua and Raila at the burial.

The Head of the Deputy Presidential Communication Service confirmed that Gachagua was also attending the funeral.

"A shujaa has rested. Deputy President Gachagua is at the funeral of Mau Mau Brigadier Kiboko (John Njigoya Kagwe), in Ngorika, Nyandarua County," she wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Gachagua has been accusing Raila multiple times since the protests ended of seeking to sabotage President William Ruto's government and seeking a share of power as he did in the previous regime.

He has also claimed that Raila has been sponsoring young people together with former President Uhuru Kenyatta to cause chaos and disrupt the peace in the country, though falling short of reprimanding the police which has been criticised by the opposition regarding their conduct during the anti-government protests.

Raila on his side has been accusing the government of trying to weaken the opposition through relentless poaching of MPs from Azimio as well as mismanaging the economy and failed pre-election promises.

The veteran opposition chief wants an audit of the last elections, a lowering of the cost of living, and Kenya Kwanza to stop meddling in the affairs of Azimio. 

Previously, Gachagua poked holes into the ongoing bipartisan talks between the government and Azimio, claiming that the talks were only meant to hoodwink Kenyans since Raila apparently met with President Ruto and made his agenda clear on what he wants.

According to the deputy president, following the series of anti-government protests that had rocked the country, Raila privately met with President Ruto in Mombasa where he agreed to call for a truce but on condition that his personal demands are met.

Among those personal requests, Gachagua claimed, was a handshake that would see him get into a coalition government with President Ruto, the second consecutive time he would get into such a deal following a similar one with former President Kenyatta.

“These talks being led by Kalonzo, there is nothing to wait from there. 2018 Raila went into a handshake with Uhuru and did not tell Kalonzo, let alone tag him along. He struck his deal with Uhuru and got done with it. He took all the projects from Uhuru and moved them to his home turf. Is there a project he brought here? But you people even after he did you that way, you looked for him and failed alongside him.

"Now he has looked for the President the other day, he didn't come with Kalonzo. There is nothing he talked about with Kalonzo other than his personal affairs, that of his children, his wife and their people. In the talks, he has now sent Kalonzo...in the agenda, there is no discussions on water for Ukambani, fertiliser or roads, in the talks, what is there for the Kamba people?" Gachagua posed.

The last time Gachagua and Raila came face to face was on September 16, 2022, in Mombasa County, three days since Ruto assumed office.

Speaking after the meeting, Gachagua revealed that he held great respect for Raila, despite being the opponent to President Ruto in the August 9 general elections.

"We have tremendous respect for our senior citizens. I was delighted this morning to have a tete-a-tete with our senior citizen former Prime Minister Rt Hon Raila Amolo Odinga in Mombasa," Gachagua said on his official Facebook account.

The two were thereafter filmed walking side by side with each other at the Moi International Airport in Mombasa on the way to boarding a plane to Nairobi.

Here's a video of Raila arriving at the funeral of the late Mau Mau brigadier Kiboko:

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