NAIROBI, Kenya- Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has claimed President William Ruto’s remarks about him were prompted by his efforts to expose an alleged deal involving minerals at Mrima Hills.
Speaking in Westford, Massachusetts, Gachagua said he had foiled Ruto’s plan to hand over the deposits to US interests.
Ruto had earlier criticised Gachagua after a journalist asked him about the former deputy president’s allegations during a media engagement in Mombasa on Thursday, October 1.
Ruto called Gachagua a “complete fool” and referred to his claims as the matters of a madman, while declining to address their substance.
Gachagua first made the minerals allegations during a US visit in September.
He claimed Ruto’s trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly was also intended to advance an agreement with American firms to exploit niobium and rare-earth deposits at Mrima Hills, in Kwale County.
He put the deposits’ estimated value at Sh8.2 trillion and warned that Kenyans could miss out on the benefits.
The government has not confirmed Gachagua’s claim that a deal has been concluded.
Kenya is considering bids for development rights at Mrima Hill, while US and Kenyan officials have publicly discussed cooperation on critical minerals, including local processing and value addition.
Reuters reported in September that six companies were under consideration for the project, two of them US-based.
The dispute has added to political tensions between Ruto and Gachagua, who campaigned together in 2022 before their relationship broke down and Gachagua was removed from the deputy presidency in 2024.
