Reports of bad blood between President William Ruto and his deputy Rigathi Gachagua took a fresh twist on Sunday, September 15, when the latter skipped a presidential function his Nyeri backyard.

Gachagua was expected to play host to President Ruto during the official launch of African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa (AIPCA) Central-Western Archdiocese in Nyeri town.

Instead, the second in command attended a church service at Our Lady of Sorrows, Baricho Catholic Parish in the neighbouring Kirinyaga County.

But Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga, a strong ally of Gachagua, has come out to explain why he skipped Ruto’s function.

In an exclusive interview with TV47 on Friday, September 20 morning, Governor Kahiga said President Ruto was “the cause of that empty seat.”

“I was called the night before by the deputy president and Mercy Wanjau [Secretary to the Cabinet]. Wanjau told me ‘governor we are coming there tomorrow, but we shall first pass through Kirinyaga’. I asked, ‘you and whom?’, she told me ‘myself, the president and the deputy president.’ Even DP told me ‘we will be going with the president to Kirinyaga first and then come to Nyeri.’ So I was ready.”

“To my surprise, I saw the president go to a church in Outering, Nairobi, instead of Kirinyaga, that Sunday morning. Rigathi Gachagua had already gone to Kirinyaga to wait for the President. The mass he was attending was a Catholic mass, and you don’t interrupt Catholic masses… After finalising with the mass, he flew to Nyeri and ran with this one. And even as we were sitting, I remember him asking me, ‘Isn’t Rigathi Gachagua coming?’, I told him, ‘Your Excellency he was waiting for you in Kirinyaga’, and he told me, ‘Oh my God! It happened that in the morning, nilibadilisha plan kidogo.’.”

Kahiga reiterated that Gachagua respects his boss: “Let me tell you, if there is a man I know who respects his President it is Rigathi Gachagua. Gachagua has a background of a uniformed officer. In the early days of this Gov’t, Gachagua was the defender of this Gov’t. He would tell us that he must protect his boss…now see where we are.”

In the latest incident, DP Gachagua’s absence was conspicuous on Thursday, September 19 when he also skipped the investiture of the new Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja, at State House, Nairobi.

The event was attended by high-profile government including Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, and other leading security officials.