National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah/HANDOUT
National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah has threatened to sue former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua over claims linking him to alleged attempts to influence the forthcoming Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election.
In a briefing earlier on Friday, Gachagua alleged that Ichung'wah met a Deputy County Commissioner to influence the July 16 Ol Kalou by-election and attempted to bribe officials of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
In a statement, Ichung'wah dismissed Gachagua's claims as false, saying the former deputy president had resorted to what he described as propaganda after allegedly realising his preferred candidate was headed for defeat.
"I take great exception to the reckless, false and malicious allegations levelled against me today by Mr Gachagua regarding the forthcoming Ol Kalou by-election," Ichung'wah said.
Ichung'wah further claimed that Gachagua was panicking over the prospects of the poll and had abandoned issue-based politics for what he termed "cheap theatrics" and conspiracy theories.
"It is now abundantly clear that Mr Gachagua is a man gripped by panic. After weeks of chest-thumping and empty bravado, he has come face to face with the reality that his preferred candidate is headed for defeat," he said.
Ichung'wah denied Gachagua's claims that he had met Deputy County Commissioners to influence the election, insisting the allegations were entirely false.
"His claims that I have held meetings with Deputy County Commissioners to influence the election are entirely false, baseless and defamatory. They exist nowhere except in the imagination of a man who has built his politics on conspiracy theories, propaganda, hate and ethnic division," he said.
The Kikuyu MP also dismissed Gachagua's claims that he had attempted to bribe Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission officials, saying the allegations were intended to tarnish both his reputation and the credibility of the electoral process.
He said he would institute legal proceedings against Gachagua.
"Because this empty political rhetoric now touches on my integrity, to preserve the sanctity of our electoral processes and protect our democracy, I will take legal action against Mr Gachagua. He will have the opportunity to substantiate every allegation he has made before a court of law," Ichung'wah said.
Ichung'wah also claimed that Gachagua was seeking to remain politically relevant by, in his view, promoting division, tribalism and fear.
"The people of Ol Kalou, the Mt Kenya region and Kenyans across the country can now clearly see Mr Gachagua for who he truly is. He is not championing democracy; he is desperately clinging to relevance by peddling division, tribalism and fear," he said.
Ichung'wah maintained that residents of Ol Kalou would freely elect their preferred candidate, saying no amount of what he described as propaganda or divisive rhetoric would influence the outcome of the by-election.
