NAIROBI, Kenya – Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has claimed that President William Ruto personally offered him a multi-billion-shilling retirement package to step down from office days before his impeachment.
In a candid interview aired Monday evening, Gachagua alleged that the president told him he could no longer work with him and proposed that he resign “honourably” in exchange for Sh1.5 to Sh2 billion.
“He called me once when we disagreed and said, ‘I cannot work with you. I would like you to resign, and if you don’t, I will impeach you,’” Gachagua said. “He added that, since I helped him get to power, I should not go home empty-handed. I told him I’m not interested—I am priceless.”
Gachagua also claimed that Ruto made multiple attempts to push him out of office quietly, including dispatching a senior government officer with the same offer on three separate occasions.
“He sent a very senior officer on the day the National Assembly passed the resolution for my impeachment. I broke my own rule and recorded the conversation,” Gachagua said.
The former DP added that the emissary initially suggested a private meeting with the President at State House, which he declined.
“He then suggested a city hotel—I refused. We eventually met at a safe house along State House Road, operated by the National Intelligence Service.”
According to Gachagua, another offer was delivered the day he appeared before the Senate for his impeachment hearing. “He came again with another offer from the President. I turned it down.”
The latest claims add a new layer to the political feud between the two former allies, following Ruto’s accusation last month that Gachagua attempted to blackmail him into paying Sh10 billion to rally support in Mt. Kenya or face political sabotage.
Gachagua, who was removed from office in October after 281 MPs voted for his impeachment, has since maintained that his ouster was politically motivated.
