DP Rigathi Gachagua offers new job to young lady who coined his nickname ‘Riggy G’
On Monday, October 17, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua located Ivy Chelimo, the woman who gave him the nickname “Riggy G.”
Gachagua also extended an employment offer to her while speaking at the World Food Day event in Rombo, Kajiado South Sub County, noting that she would work in his Harambee House Annex office.
He continued by saying that the woman represented the innovation and promise that the nation’s young possessed.
“This lady called Ivy, she coined Riggy G, I’ve tracked her down and offered her work at my Harambee Annex Office,” he stated much to the applause of the crowd.
For her part, Chelimo praised the deputy for the chance and for making sure that young people are taken care of in the Kenya Kwanza administration.
“Thank you Deputy president, he offered me a job this morning and he’s very passionate about the youths taking positions in this government. He made a statement this morning asking how long will we keep telling the youths that we are the leaders of tomorrow,” she stated.
“I assure you that he has things in place to ensure the youth take up opportunities so don’t sit and wait for opportunities to come but rather take them up by yourselves,” she added.
In a previous interview, Gachagua had told his boys to find Chelimo so they could have a special supper with his family.
Additionally, he said that he like the nickname and that it was a little more musical than his actual name.
“The young lady who decided that Rigathi Gachagua is a little bit difficult and not melodious, we need to give him the name Riggy G. To encourage our young people, I took up the name in strides. I have told my sons to look for that girl to come we have dinner.
“I want to encourage that young girl, I will see what I can do for her so that I can see, from my salary, if I can boost her a little bit to be able to do something,” Gachagua promised.
Additionally, he had stated that recognizing Chelimo was a smaller component of a larger duty that included providing help to gifted youngsters in an effort to maximize their potential.
Ivy Chelimo
Speaking during an interview on NTV’s The Trend on Friday, September 16, Chelimo, now dubbed the ‘shawry of nicknames’ after being identified as the genius behind Gachagua’s nickname, revealed that she decided to post about the nickname at that time out of bravery as the mere mention of a politician brings huge traffic on anyone’s social media accounts.
It was not until the swearing-in ceremony that she was called to be informed that she was trending on the microblogging platform alongside Gachagua.
“You know actually you can’t mention a politician because you don’t want that traction on your page. So I was like let me make it because he was winning the debate anyway.
“I was like I am not going to mention his name or anyone’s name and then forgot about it. Then three days ago (on September 13) my best friend texts me and she’s like ‘you’re trending on Twitter’ I’m like ‘what do you mean you’re trending on Twitter?’ because it was crazy, it was really overwhelming,” Chelimo said.
Chelimo explained that a Twitter user lauded the mastermind behind the nickname before a local media platform exposed her with her username, thus becoming a trend.
She further explained that she is an ardent follower of politics and regarding her political ambitions, she aspires to vie for either a Member of the County Assembly (MCA) or a Senator in the 2027 general elections.
“I follow politics a lot, I actually really like politics. At one point I really wanted to venture into politics but not now, like in 2027. I want to vie for either MCA or Senator in Nandi County,” she said, adding that she was ready to test herself in an atmosphere that has proved challenging especially for women.
Chelimo said that her role model is Gladys Shollei, who is currently the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, adding that her eloquence, confidence in what she does, education and not being everywhere in scandals is what stand out for her.
