NAIROBI, Kenya — Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has sought to defuse controversy over his recent remarks about the Somali community, insisting his criticism was directed at a single businessman accused of engaging in unfair trade practices — not an entire ethnic group.
Speaking on Wednesday at the burial of the late father of Kipipiri MP Wanjiku Muhia, Gachagua said his comments were rooted in the need to protect Kenyan farmers whose livelihoods have been undermined by cheap imports.
“I have no problem with the Somali community. They are honest, hardworking and honourable people,” Gachagua said. “My concern is with one individual who imported goods such as rice and sugar in a way that hurt farmers in Mwea and Western Kenya.”
The former deputy president said it was irresponsible for political actors to twist personal economic disputes into ethnic narratives, warning that such framing risks inflaming tensions and undermining national unity.
“It is wrong to take the actions of one person and use them to attack an entire community,” he said.
Gachagua’s clarification comes amid growing scrutiny following a complaint filed with the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) by lawyers representing the owners of Business Bay Square (BBS Mall) in Eastleigh.
In the complaint, MMA Advocates accuse Gachagua of making remarks during a church service in Kiratina, Kiambu County, on January 4, 2025, that allegedly linked the Somali community and identifiable businesses to a fraud scandal in Minnesota, United States.
The lawyers argue that the statements unfairly stigmatized law-abiding Somali citizens and risked fuelling ethnic hostility.
Addressing the issue again on Wednesday, Gachagua rejected claims that he had targeted the Somali community, saying any suggestion to that effect was misleading.
“If one or two people have a problem, that should not drag the entire community into it,” he said. “My interest is in farmers who have been harmed, not in pointing fingers at a whole ethnic group.”
The Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader also stressed that economic crimes must be investigated strictly within the law, without resorting to ethnic profiling.
“Every country follows its national interest. If money was stolen anywhere, investigations must follow the law. But that does not mean you condemn a whole community. You follow the truth, not tribes,” he said.
Opposition leader Kalonzo Musyoka, who attended the same event, came to Gachagua’s defence, urging Kenyans to separate criminal accountability from ethnic identity.
“We want criminals exposed, but Somalis — and every other Kenyan who is not a criminal — should not be attacked or feared,” Kalonzo said. “We are working for real unity, not unity built on blame and suspicion.”
