How Rigathi Gachagua’s mother, Martha Kirigo met former president Moi.
Sunday, April 2, 2023 – For a long time, there have been rumours about Moi being Rigathi Gachagua’s biological father.
It has since been established that Gachagua was indeed sired by Moi in 1965.
His original name was Rigathi Kiprono. He later changed to Gachagua from Kiprono to assimilate with Kikuyus.
According to an exclusive source, Martha Kirigo was employed as a maid and farmhand by Mzee Gachagua. However, a feud emerged between her and Gachagua’s first wife after the latter learned that Martha was cohabiting with his husband.
Gachagua would later marry her as a second wife and before long, the first wife died mysteriously. It is believed that Martha poisoned her.
These accusations did not sit well with Mzee Gachagua and he henceforth distanced himself from her.
Not one to be left out, Martha started dating out of wedlock. Before her death, the first wife is said to have warned Gachagua to never sire children with Martha. All her subsequent children (4) were born out of wedlock to different men including Moi.
It was during this period that she met Davidson Ngibuini Kuguru who would later become the MP for Mathira in 1969. Ngibuini was then a successful businessman and he easily won Martha with his money
Martha’s beauty was alluring. Ngibuini wanted to show her off to his peers. He was a close friend to the late Njenga Karume and independence president Jomo Kenyatta during the onset of the Kanu long reign.
Ngibuini often took Martha to the Kanu and Kadu merger talks. It was during one of these meetings that the young and handsome Vice president Daniel Arap Moi noticed Martha Kirigo and asked Ngibuini to set up an introduction.
While Ngibuini wanted Martha for himself, he was also keen on rising in the Kanu ranks and becoming an MP. He talked Martha into a swingers’ deal. She agreed in an exchange for Moi helping him rise in Kanu.
At the time, Moi’s marriage to Lena was in turmoil, and Martha came in handy. She would be picked up from home by Moi’s aide and driven to Kabarak where she would remain for days.
It is during one of these visits that Martha got pregnant for Moi in 1965. She had been a frequent guest at the Eldoret and Kabarak homes. She informed Ngibuini Kuguru who was excited at the prospects the new development would bring his way.
He knew that Moi now would have his ear and advance him privileges in Kanu. He encouraged Martha to tell Moi about it. She revealed the news to Moi during one of her visits and he was reportedly happy that he offered to permanently move her to Eldoret.
In the ensuing Kanu elections, Moi assisted Ngibuini Kuguru to beat Anderson Kangeri Wamuthenya in the Mathira parliamentary seat contest.
He would become MP for a record three uninterrupted terms before Eliud Matu Wamae floored him in 1983. He would however recapture the seat in 1988.
Meanwhile, Martha gave birth to a baby boy. His name, Rigathi Gachagua. After his birth, Moi sent 50 heads of goat to Hiriga for Martha’s postnatal healing gift in line with the Tugen culture.
He went further and bought her 24 acres of land in Shamata as a push present. Martha later allocated 12 acres to Rigathi and the remaining 12 acres to Gacheke, Rigathi’s sister who is married to a white man.
Martha would occasionally visit Moi at his Kabarak home when he became president after Jomo Kenyatta’s death. He catered for Rigathi’s education up to the University of Nairobi.
Moi loved Martha Kirigo so much that he even took his son to work for the Administration long before he graduated. Rigathi would accompany his father, Moi, on international trips besides offering him lucrative jobs in Government.
To pacify Mzee Gachagua, Martha’s legal husband, Moi, and Ngibuini allocated him a piece of land (6acres) in the Sagana Settlement Scheme. This is where Rigathi Gachagua would later get his inheritance.
During his sunset days, Mzee Gachagua decided to allocate the troublesome Rigathi Gachagua land away from his other siblings, noting that he was quarrelsome and violent.
While Mzee Gachagua gave his other sons their inheritance in Hiriga, he sent Rigathi to the Sagana Settlement Scheme where his home stands today.
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