The late Gachagua risked health in service to Nyeri people and reputation

The Late Governor Nderitu Gachagua risked his health for the service of the people of Nyeri and to maintain his reputable, his family has revealed.

Gachagua ran into trouble with his doctors at the London Hospital for insistence to make frequent trips to Nyeri to check on his job.

The epitome of his squabbles with the medics was in September 2016 when Nyeri County assembly members moved a motion to oust him and was subsequently required to defend himself before the Senate.

Gachagua snubbed a scheduled therapy session in London to appear at the Senate.

When confronted by family members and doctors he told them that: “I would rather die than go to the grave with shame. I needed to defend my name”.

The doctors were very annoyed with Gachagua’s decision and even refused to take him back when his health deteriorated.

He used his brother to convince the doctors to receive him and to explain to them that: “It is not my position I wanted to defend, but my name”.

The late governor was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at a London hospital in January 2015 after suffering stomach problems since 2014 and being unable to get help from local hospitals.

During his last days at the London hospital, Gachagua was bothered with proceedings in the country’s political arena.

He was particularly disturbed by the low turnout levels in Nyeri County during the concluded mass voter registration drive.

“Why do the people of Nyeri want to embarrass me,” he would complain, his brother Rigathi narrated.

Gachagua turned his hospital bed in London into an office, as he used to run county business from there through a flurry of phone calls.

“He would call the deputy governor and ask him about the progress in road constructions and tell him to launch them immediately…he would ask his education county executive committee member about bursaries to be given out and instruct him to go ahead and give out fairly,” said Rigathi.

Rigathi Gachagua narrated how the late governor wanted to travel back to the country to rest at his rural home in Hiriga Village, when he his health became worse.

“The airline had allowed us to travel on Saturday but he rested [died] on Friday,” said Rigathi.

Gachagua called his family together at the London hospital bed and communicated his will before he passed on.

“He wanted to be buried next to our fathers grave, a wish we have honoured. And we wanted two composers to sing during burial,” Rigathi said as he called the musician to entertain the mourners according to Gachagua’s wish.