NAIROBI, Kenya- Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has hit back at President William Ruto over his latest attacks on retired President Uhuru Kenyatta, telling the Head of State to stop targeting his predecessor and face his political rivals ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Speaking on Friday, August 14, at the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) headquarters in Nairobi, Gachagua dismissed Ruto’s claims that Uhuru is sponsoring opposition politicians seeking to challenge his administration.
“William Ruto, please leave President Uhuru Kenyatta alone. President Uhuru Kenyatta is retired and face your competitor, Rigathi Gachagua,” Gachagua said.
Gachagua argued that Uhuru would not be on the ballot in 2027 and accused Ruto of attempting to divert public attention from the performance of his administration.
“You cannot pretend that you are in competition with President Uhuru Kenyatta. He will not be on the ballot,” he said.
Ruto accuses Uhuru of sponsoring opposition
Gachagua’s remarks followed comments by Ruto on Thursday in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County, where the President accused his predecessor of sponsoring opposition figures ahead of the 2027 elections.
Ruto questioned the record of the former administration and claimed Uhuru was behind political figures seeking to challenge him.
“When you look at their sponsor, didn’t he fail to deliver on Affordable Housing, Universal Healthcare Coverage, and Education?” Ruto said.
The President further alleged that Uhuru had organised political proxies to compete against his administration.
“I will defeat them early in the morning because they have no plan, agenda, policies, or vision,” Ruto said.
The remarks marked a fresh escalation in the political exchange between Ruto and his former allies as the country moves closer to the 2027 General Election.
Gachagua accuses Ruto of shifting focus
Gachagua accused the President of using attacks on Uhuru to shift the national conversation away from the record of the Kenya Kwanza administration.
He said Kenyans should instead be allowed to assess the government’s performance over the past four years.
“William Ruto, in his usual style, tried to divert the attention of Kenyans by attacking President Uhuru Kenyatta so that Kenyans can abandon that debate and start defending Uhuru and castigating him,” Gachagua said.
The DCP leader maintained that the administration could not escape scrutiny by repeatedly invoking the former president.
“We want to tell you, you cannot divert the attention of Kenyans from the discussion on your performance for four years, and that debate must go on,” he added.
Gachagua positions himself as Ruto’s rival
Gachagua also used the response to position himself as one of Ruto’s principal political challengers ahead of the 2027 presidential contest.
He insisted that the President should focus on those seeking to defeat him rather than a retired head of state.
“Leave President Uhuru Kenyatta alone; he is retired and face your competitor Rigathi Gachagua. That is the man you must face,” he said.
The former Deputy President has increasingly presented himself as a central figure in the opposition campaign against Ruto, with his DCP party expanding its presence across the country.
On Friday, he also dismissed Ruto’s recent declaration that the broad-based government must win the 2027 election, describing the statement as “wishful thinking.”
Gachagua cited the recent Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election as evidence that government predictions of electoral dominance could not be taken for granted.
Jubilee also defends Uhuru
Gachagua’s intervention came as Uhuru continued to receive support from political allies following Ruto’s remarks.
The Jubilee Party on Thursday criticised the administration for repeatedly invoking the former president, arguing that Uhuru, who left office in 2022, should be allowed to live and express his political views as a retired Kenyan leader.
“A government that has been in power for a full term cannot keep campaigning against a man who left office in 2022,” Jubilee said.
The emerging exchanges have placed Uhuru back at the centre of Kenya’s political conversation despite his retirement from the presidency, while Ruto and opposition leaders increasingly frame the 2027 contest as a battle over the country’s future political direction.
