Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has hit out at his critics, telling them he will not shy away from being proud of his tribe.
The DP, who has come under immense pressure over remarks that he is allegedly advancing tribal, said every Kenyan should be proud of his mother tongue.
“Everybody should be proud of your origin and identity, nobody should ever make you feel embarrassed about your origin and identity,” Gachagua said.
Speaking when he addressed the Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya International Conference in Mombasa on Wednesday, Gachagua said he will always retreat to the village after work.
“I don’t want to say a lot, I want to go to Nairobi briefly then I go to the village,” he said.
“I don’t know why anybody would have a problem with where we come from.”
The statement is seen as a direct reply to his critics who have questioned his brand of politics which they argue is Mount Kenya-centric despite him holding a national office.
Those opposed to his politics have openly accused the DP of advancing tribalism at the expense of uniting the country.
On Wednesday, the DP hit back saying Kenyans should not feel ashamed of their tribe because everybody belongs to a certain region or tribe.
“Kila mtu ako na kwao, hii Mombasa na Nairobi ni kiwanja ya kutafuta riziki, but mwisho kabisa unajua utarudi(Everybody has their home, in Mombasa and Nairobi we come to eke a living but we know we shall finally go home),” he said.
The DP warned his opponents and critics not to chastise others just because they are either talking in their first language or are addressing their tribespeople.
“Let us not pretend that we are what we are not and nobody should ever get embarrassed about your origin, your identity and your language, hizo vitu ulipewa and mwenyezi Mungu bure(you were given those things freely by God) without any application and God never told you where to be born and among which people,” he said.
Defending his dalliance with his Kikuyu language when addressing rallies and meeting his backyard, Gachagua said language is an element of identity.
“I am talking English here because most of you might not understand my language I will speak Swahili when I go where people don’t understand English, but if I go to the village, what business do I have talking to the people of the village in English and I am not a Msungu?” Gachagua posed.
“Like Wewe Machogu when you go to Kisii what business do you have addressing those people in English, si hiyo ni majivuno na maringo? Tuache madharau(Isn’t that pride and chest-thumbing?”
President William Ruto has recently blasted leaders telling them off over advancing divisive politics likely to balkanise the country along tribal lines.
