President William Ruto has shared some of the little-known details about his decision to select Rigathi Gachagua as his running mate in the lead-up to the 2022 general election.
In his own words, Ruto said he picked Gachagua as his choice despite not being the favorite candidate for the position among the leaders from Mt Kenya.
According to Ruto, Gachagua secured only five votes, while current DP Kithure Kindiki emerged as the overwhelming favorite with 27 votes.
The internal vote, he said had to be undertaken after the MPs from that region failed to strike a concensus on the best candidate for the position after several hours of negotiations at his then Karen residence on May 15, 2022.
Ruto spoke on Monday night during a live interview at Sagana State Lodge.
"I had many options to choose from because I had worked with many leaders from Mt Kenya. I told them to help me nominate one person as my running mate as we head into the election,” he explained.
“I gave them an opportunity to discuss about it. They talked from morning until 4 pm at the Karen office.”
Faced with the deadlock, the leaders, according to Ruto, suggested a vote, which he accepted.
“They told me are unable to agree, can we vote?”
Ruto said following the outcome of the voting which saw Kindiki get the highest, he requested for some time to reflect on it before making a final decision.
He said he later persuaded them to agree on having Gachagua who is a bit old to avoid perceptions that his team was favoring younger leaders, of which Kindiki was a part.
“I told them to avoid accusations from Mt Kenya that we are sidelining senior leaders, let me pick this old man who is closer to my age. They reluctantly agreed,” Ruto recounted.
