Senior opposition figures gathered in Nyeri County on Saturday, November 14, for the burial of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s elder sister, Eunice Nyangari Gachagua.
Wiper Patriotic Front leader Kalonzo Musyoka, Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, former Chief Justice David Maraga, DAP-K leader Eugene Wamalwa, Siaya Governor James Orengo, and former MP Maina Kamanda joined Gachagua, his family, and mourners to pay their last respects. The ceremony drew politicians from across different political camps at a time when opposition parties are exploring ways to unite before the next polls.
The funeral followed days of coordinated condolence visits to the former Deputy President’s Karen residence in Nairobi. Sifuna, who leads the Linda Mwananchi faction, visited Gachagua on Thursday to console the family.
A day earlier, Kalonzo and Jubilee Party leader Fred Matiang’i made separate visits to the Karen home. Kalonzo was accompanied by Wiper leaders as he expressed solidarity with Gachagua, his wife Pastor Dorcas Rigathi, and the wider family, while Matiang’i visited alongside members of the Jubilee Party National Executive Committee.
Gachagua announced his sister’s death on November 6, saying that she had died in Naro Moru, Nyeri County, at the age of 77.
During Saturday’s ceremony, Gachagua eulogized Eunice as a mother figure who helped hold the family together after their mother died seven years ago.
