\n Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto on Sunday picked a former aide turned fierce critic of President Uhuru Kenyatta to be his running mate in the country's high-stakes election in August.\n<\/p>\n
\n Rigathi Gachagua, who served as Kenyatta's personal assistant between 2001 and 2006, was picked after a months-long, secretive process marked by intense lobbying that stretched late into the night on Saturday.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"The consensus pointed to an individual who scored excellent points on every evaluative parameter... an astute debater with prodigious persuasive responsibility,\" Ruto told a televised press briefing at his home in the capital Nairobi.\n<\/p>\n
\n Gachagua said he was \"honoured by the responsibility and faith\" Ruto had placed in him, vowing to \"deliver Kenyans from economic oppression.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n Prior to becoming a lawmaker in 2017, Gachagua served as an administrator in the authoritarian government of Daniel arap Moi and is regarded as an effective campaigner.\n<\/p>\n
\n But he has also faced corruption allegations and was charged last year with acquiring more than 7.3 billion Kenyan shillings ($62.8 million, 60.3 million euros) suspected to be proceeds of crime. The case is ongoing.\n<\/p>\n
\n This year's presidential contest is shaping up to be a two-horse race between Ruto and Raila Odinga, a former political prisoner and prime minister who has secured Kenyatta's support.\n<\/p>\n
\n Ruto, 54, was initially anointed by Kenyatta as his successor but found himself marginalised after the 2018 pact between the president and former foe Odinga.\n<\/p>\n
\n Since then Ruto has positioned himself as a leader looking to upend the status quo and stand up for the \"hustlers\" trying to survive in a country ruled by \"dynasties\" -- a reference to the Kenyatta and Odinga families which have dominated politics for decades.\n<\/p>\n
\n - Tribal allegiances -\n<\/p>\n
\n The choice of a deputy president will play a key role in determining the winner of the August 9 poll, with tribal and community allegiances affecting the outcome of previous elections.\n<\/p>\n
\n The East African powerhouse has traditionally been ruled by presidents from the dominant Kikuyu tribe like Kenyatta or the Kalenjin tribe like Ruto.\n<\/p>\n
\n Gachagua -- a Kikuyu -- hails from the populous Mount Kenya region, which has produced three of the country's four presidents since independence in 1963.\n<\/p>\n
\n With its diverse population and ethnic voting blocs, elections in Kenya have often been marred by violence.\n<\/p>\n
\n Both Kenyatta and Ruto had been indicted by the International Criminal Court on crimes against humanity charges for their alleged role in orchestrating post-poll violence in 2007 that cost more than 1,100 lives.\n<\/p>\n
\n The case collapsed in 2016 after the court declared a mistrial citing troubling incidences of witness interference.\n<\/p>\n
\n After post-election fighting in 2017 left dozens dead, Kenyatta and Odinga announced a rapprochement, saying they hoped to end repeated cycles of poll-related violence.\n<\/p>\n
\n Odinga, who belongs to the Luo tribe, is expected to announce his running mate on Monday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto on Sunday picked a former aide turned fierce critic of President Uhuru Kenyatta to be his running mate in the country's high-stakes election in August. Rigathi Gachagua, who served as Kenyatta's personal assistant between 2001 and 2006, was picked after a months-long, secretive process marked by intense lobbying that stretched […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-92184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n