NAIROBI, Kenya – In a twist that’s raising eyebrows across Kenya’s political landscape, DCP Party leader Rigathi Gachagua has publicly revised his bold 2022 claims that the Ruto administration inherited “empty coffers” from the previous government.
During an interview on Friday night, May 16, 2025, with media personality Oga Obinna, the former Deputy President took a more measured approach, stating that while the government’s finances were tight at the time of transition, they weren’t completely dry.
“To a certain extent, yes, we found empty coffers,” Gachagua admitted, “but there was enough to get the country started. There wasn’t a surplus or abundance, but there was enough money to get the country back on its feet.”
This shift in narrative marks a significant backpedal from his fiery September 2022 inauguration speech, where he memorably declared the Kenya Kwanza government had inherited a ghost treasury—“not even a rat” was left behind, he had said at the time, to hammer home the image of economic desolation.
But now, Gachagua seems to be redefining that doomsday scenario, casting the previous administration’s handover in a less bleak light.
From Rhetoric to Reality
So, what changed? According to Gachagua, the real limitation wasn’t just the state of the coffers—it was who held the purse strings. He claimed that despite there being some funds available to support a government in transition, President William Ruto took total control of how those funds were spent, effectively sidelining him from key decisions.
“I did not have power to direct this money because he used to micromanage everything,” Gachagua said, directly accusing the president of shutting him out of financial planning. “There was not much that we could do.”
In response to Obinna’s question about why he didn’t push for initiatives to kickstart the economy, the DCP leader pointed squarely at Ruto’s tight grip on the wheel.
The allegations echo Gachagua’s growing frustrations with the Kenya Kwanza regime—a political marriage that once appeared solid but now seems to be splintering under the weight of unmet expectations and backroom power struggles.
This is just the latest in a series of barbed remarks Gachagua has made about his former boss.
From accusing the president of emotional manipulation to publicly questioning his leadership style, the DCP leader appears to be carving out a more critical path.
While Gachagua’s statements might be brushed off by some as political positioning ahead of 2027, they also open the door to fresh scrutiny over Kenya Kwanza’s first months in power and the internal dynamics that shaped its early policies.
