NAIROBI, Kenya- Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has renewed his criticism of Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, accusing him of failing to oppose alleged state actions during the 2024 Gen Z protests.
The June 2024 Demonstrations, sparked by opposition to the Finance Bill, led to the Parliament breach and the subsequent police crackdown that resulted in at least 60 to 64 deaths.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) registered 62 deaths from this period.
Gachagua said he personally confronted Kindiki, who was then Cabinet Secretary for Interior, over the government’s response to the demonstrations, including allegations of abductions and killings of young people.
“I called Kindiki. That is why I have very little regard for that man,” Gachagua said.
He claimed he asked Kindiki whether instructions being issued by the government were lawful and consistent with the Constitution and Christian teachings.
“I said, what you are being told to do, is it right? Is it biblical, is it in accordance with the Constitution?” Gachagua said.
According to the former deputy president, Kindiki responded that he had to follow President William Ruto’s instructions.
Gachagua said he then specifically asked Kindiki whether that included the abduction and killing of young people.
“He said, sasa kama rais amesema, mimi nitafanya nini?” Gachagua claimed.
Gachagua argued that had both he and Kindiki refused to follow unlawful instructions, some of the young people who died during the protests might have survived.
“If he refused and I refused, the two of us, probably those boys and girls, would not have died,” he said.
The allegations revive a political dispute between the two men over the government’s handling of the 2024 protests, which were led largely by young Kenyans opposing the Finance Bill and broader concerns over governance and the cost of living.
Gachagua has previously accused Kindiki of having a central role in the government’s security response during the demonstrations.
In April, he alleged that Kindiki had supervised the abduction and killing of Gen Z protesters, claims that were not accompanied by evidence establishing Kindiki’s personal responsibility.
Kindiki has now hit back, dismissing Gachagua’s claims as false.
“I have been directed to kill people?” Kindiki said, challenging the allegation.
He said that at the time of the protests, his attention was focused on what he described as a national security crisis involving terrorism and banditry.
“I was too busy and focused during that time, handling the important national assignment of the fight against terrorists and bandits who had run amok with their brazen attacks on the people of Kenya,” Kindiki said.
He accused Gachagua of attempting to rewrite events for political purposes.
“Nobody will buy your petty lies,” Kindiki said, describing Gachagua’s allegations as “nonsense upon stilts”.
Kindiki served as Interior Cabinet Secretary from 2022 until October 2024, when he was nominated to replace Gachagua as deputy president following Gachagua’s impeachment.
He was sworn into office on November 1, 2024.
The exchange marks another escalation in the increasingly bitter political relationship between Gachagua and his former government colleagues as Kenya moves towards the 2027 general election.
Gachagua has increasingly positioned himself as a critic of the Ruto administration, while Kindiki has remained one of the President’s senior allies.
