Gachagua betrayed fellow students to Moi at University of Nairobi
Gachagua betrayed
fellow students to Moi at University of Nairobi
As a student at the University of Nairobi in the
late 1980s, current Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua (pictured) was recruited by the dreaded
Special Branch to spy on fellow students and lecturers.
The SONU leaders he betrayed and were jailed
included Wafula Buke.
According to Buke, it is Gachagua who
told the Special Branch he had connections with Libya which would have been
used to overthrow President Daniel arap Moi.
Buke was jailed for five years for
alleged subversion.
Our correspondent compiles Gachagua’s story.
Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua was admitted to
study Bachelor of Arts at the University of Nairobi (UoN) in the 1980s.
Those days, Kenya, like many other African
countries, was a one party dictatorship.
But university students were at the forefront in
demanding respect for human rights and democracy.
Consequently, the dreaded Special Branch was
very keen to recruit snitches to monitor other students and lecturers, and
report anyone talking about democracy, multi-parties, human rights etc.
Rigathi was introduced to Special Branch by his
close relative who was a chief.
The Special Branch was very eager to recruit
Rigathi as an informer, since he would be a student at UoN’s Faculty of Arts,
then known as a hotbed of “radical politics”.
Immediately he joined university, he started
reporting what lecturers and fellow students were saying about Kenyan politics.
Rigathi snitched on lecturers and fellow
students so enthusiastically that he caught the attention of then Special
Branch boss, James Kanyotu.
His eagerness to betray his fellow students
impressed Kanyotu so much, till he ordered Rigathi to be reporting directly to
him.
Kanyotu “promoted” Rigathi - informally since
Rigathi was not an employee of Special Branch - and made him the “Head Snitch”
at UoN. Naturally, Rigathi was rewarded handsomely, and bought his first car
while still a freshman at UoN.
During his time at UoN, Rigathi’s snitching led
to jailing of many students and lecturers for sedition and subversion (i.e.
discussing democracy, multi-parties, human rights).
When he graduated with BA, through government
connections, he was employed as a District Officer (D.O).
Rigathi was appointed D.O Kiambaa, Kiambu
County. As D.O he used Special Branch connections to intimidate and shake down
local businessmen.
On Monday mornings, there would be a queue of
young men waiting to meet D.O. Rigathi in his office.
Each of these young men would be carrying an
envelop to hand over to D.O. Rigathi.
The young men were messengers/drivers of Kiambaa
tycoons, sent by their bosses to hand over “protection money” to D.O. Rigathi.
This was done each and every Monday morning.
As time went on, Rigathi kept demanding more and
more money from the tycoons.
A local businessman known as Wa Cikû refused to
send any more extortion money.
Rigathi had him arrested by the Special Branch
for “insulting the government”.
Wa Cikû was released a month later but he had
been castrated.
This sent terror among Kiambaa businessmen. They
requested a meeting with then President Daniel arap Moi and urged him to
transfer Rigathi from Kiambaa.
Rigathi was transferred to Molo, Nakuru county.
The terror he subjected Molo people is talked in
whispers even today.
According to Wafula Buke, Rigathi is a man who
would “fix” you to the government of the day for his personal gain.
Buke says he was a victim of Gachagua’s
theatrics back in university during Moi’s era.
According to Buke, Gachagua was the only student
who boasted of speaking directly to President Moi, and led a flashy lifestyle
admired by a number of students who followed him for handouts.
“Gachagua was one of the most expensively
dressed students in my days in UoN. He was feared too. When he approached, you
lowered your voice for security. Truly, he was the only self-confessed student
I knew who talked to Moi directly and bragged about it. He had his following of
handout seekers just like now,” writes Buke.
Buke joined the University of Nairobi in 1985 to
pursue a degree course in Political Science and Philosophy.
In his first year, he organised a successful
demonstration in solidarity with Libyans following deadly airstrikes by the
United States in retaliation for the 1986 West Berlin discotheque bombing.
This would invite trouble from the Moi
government after Gachagua misinformed State House that he was a project of
Libya.
A detective named Solomon Ochola was sent from
Nyati House to investigate the claims, an investigation that lasted for over
two years.
“One day, Solomon Ochola, my “ardent supporter”
who often carried me shoulder high after rallies was cornered by comrade Bildad
Kisero. He told me (Hall 13 room 101) that Ochola was never a student but was a
police officer. He wanted me to disconnect from him. He had been with us for
two years as a student and a member of the university choir,” says Buke.
“Word went round about his status as an
informer. He approached me alone. “Buke I am not a student. I am an inspector
of police. I was sent here by Mr Opil from Nyati House who is in charge of
student politics and Mwakenya.
After the Pro-Libya
demo you organised, I was sent here to confirm your Libyan connection. I
learned that you actually had no connection with Libya.”
The police officer,
Ochola, would later identify police officers in campus who worked undercover as
cooks, sweepers and casual labourers.
The highest-ranked among them was, according to
Buke, Gachagua, who was a Sergeant working as a cook.
Due to his “loyalty” to President Moi’s
government, Gachagua would later become a District Officer in Kiambaa.
He also served as President Uhuru Kenyatta’s
personal assistant during his time as Kanu chairman, particularly during the
period of his failed presidential bid 2002.
In the wake of the fallout between President
Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto, Gachagua chose to support the latter.
“Gachagua’s partnership with William Ruto can be
said to be historically ordained. Theirs is amazing consistency in seeking for
self,” writes Buke.
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