Political analyst Kipkalya Kones has weighed in on the controversy surrounding journalist and Nyakach parliamentary aspirant Trevor Ombija after remarks linking former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua to an alleged attempt to have him removed from Royal Media Services (RMS).
Ombija made the remarks on September 18 while addressing supporters in Nyakach, claiming that Gachagua and people from his community wanted him removed from his job following their heated television confrontation earlier this year.
He also linked the alleged pressure to his Luo identity, saying, “Gachagua and his tribesmen wanted me to be chased from there because I am a Luo and the company is not ours.”
Kones questioned the remarks, arguing that Ombija’s statement should be considered in the wider context of political and ethnic narratives emerging ahead of the 2027 General Election.
“Trevor Ombija has just confirmed that even enlightened people who have spent their adult lives in the mainstream media space are readily surrendering their mental faculties to be used for this foolish endeavour,” Kones said.
He argued that political messaging in parts of the Luo community had increasingly portrayed Gachagua and other leaders from the Mt Kenya region through an ethnic lens.
According to Kones, some supporters of the broad-based political arrangement had developed a narrative in which former President Uhuru Kenyatta is portrayed as a “sponsor”, Gachagua as a “buyer”, while ordinary Kikuyu people are presented as adversaries.
Kones further criticised what he described as an emerging expectation that political figures seeking acceptance in parts of Luo Nyanza must adopt anti-Kikuyu rhetoric.
His remarks come after RMS Group Editorial and Strategy Director Linus Kaikai rejected Ombija’s claim that Gachagua had contacted the media company seeking his dismissal.
Kaikai said there had been no such call and disclosed that Ombija had described his own remarks as “a mistake” and said he regretted making them. Kaikai also said Ombija told him he did not expect the remarks to attract attention.
The dispute has therefore produced conflicting accounts, with Ombija’s original allegation remaining disputed by RMS management. Ombija is also campaigning for the Nyakach parliamentary seat ahead of the 2027 elections.