Central Organisation of Trade Union (COTU) Secretary General Francis Atwoli has drawn a firm line in the sand, vowing that former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua will never set foot in State House as long as he is breathing.
Speaking on Saturday, the veteran trade unionist tore into the Democracy for Citizens Party(DCP) leader, accusing him of attacking trade union workers, stoking tribal tensions, and spreading hatred across the country.
“Rigathi can never be the president of this nation while I am alive,” Atwoli declared.
He went further, blasting Gachagua over his push to form a rival union, and made it abundantly clear that he would not live to witness such a presidency.
But here is where it gets interesting—this is far from the first time Atwoli, 76, has made this kind of bold, headline-grabbing declaration.
Ahead of the 2022 presidential election, while campaigning for the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Atwoli famously insisted that William Ruto—then in the opposition—would never become president. He went as far as telling the people of Uasin Gishu County, and particularly residents of Sugoi Village, to go ahead and cut down trees to cushion Ruto from harming himself once he lost to Raila.
As fate would have it, Ruto won the presidency in 2022.
And being the seasoned opportunist that many know him to be, Atwoli wasted little time switching allegiances. He has since become one of the president’s most vocal cheerleaders—a fully registered member of Ruto’s praise and worship choir.
So when Atwoli says never, history has a funny way of proving him wrong.
