Grapevine

This man Gachagua: Scandal-tainted political novice who became Kenya's DP

Deputy President of Kenya, Rigathi Gachagua, reacts as he addresses the media during a press conference at his official residence in Nairobi, on October 7, 2024. [AFP]

Kenya's Geoffrey Rigathi Gachagua was a scandal-tainted political novice when he rode an anti-establishment wave to become deputy president -- only to be impeached by the lower house of parliament just two years after taking office.

"Riggy G", as he is known, has seen his popular touch eroded by a battered economy and spiralling cost of living.

That has left the 59-year-old exposed and facing the sack in the latest drama to engulf Kenyan politics, as his alliance with President William Ruto goes through a very public breakdown.

Gachagua, a blunt leader with a gift of the gab, was accused in the impeachment motion of corruption, undermining the government and practising ethnically divisive politics, among a host of other charges.