NAIROBI, Kenya – President William Ruto has distanced himself from the impeachment of his former deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, insisting that Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Mount Kenya region were responsible for his removal from office.
Speaking during an interview with Mount Kenya-based media stations on Monday night, Ruto claimed that Gachagua attempted to blackmail him by demanding Ksh.10 billion to solidify his support in the region.
The President alleged that his former deputy threatened to make him a one-term president if he failed to provide the funds.
“I sat down with Gachagua and told him, my friend, stop these fights. He came to me and said he would make me a one-term president and asked for Ksh.10 billion to go and prepare Mount Kenya for me,” Ruto said.
The Head of State further revealed that MPs from the region rejected Gachagua’s leadership from the start.
He recalled how, during the selection of his running mate in 2022, Mount Kenya leaders overwhelmingly voted for Kithure Kindiki over Gachagua.
“They talked at my Karen office until 4 PM and told me they were unable to decide. They then took a vote, and Kindiki got 27 votes while Rigathi got only five,” Ruto recounted.
Despite the MPs’ preference for Kindiki, Ruto said he exercised his prerogative and chose Gachagua as his running mate, believing he would resonate well with the electorate.
However, Ruto alleged that Gachagua’s leadership style led to his fallout with the legislators, citing three key reasons for his downfall.
First, he claimed that Gachagua continuously threatened MPs from the region, warning that those who did not support him would lose their seats by December.
“Every day, there were cases of people he was complaining about, including Dennis Itumbi, Farouk Kibet, Ndindi Nyoro, and Kimani Ichung’wah. I sat him down and told him to stop, but he insisted that MPs who did not kneel before him would be out of office by the end of the year,” Ruto said.
The President also criticized Gachagua for failing to defend government projects and policies in public.
He pointed out that while serving as Deputy President under Uhuru Kenyatta, he made frequent media appearances to explain government initiatives—something he claimed Gachagua failed to do.
“When I was Deputy President, I went for TV interviews more than Uhuru Kenyatta. When serving in that position, it’s your duty to promote government projects. Did you see Rigathi on any TV station talking about government programs? No,” Ruto stated.
Ruto maintained that the decision to remove Gachagua was made by politicians from the Mount Kenya region and not him.
“Those who removed him followed the law. I never signed anywhere that he be removed from office,” he emphasized.
