NAIROBI, Kenya – Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has issued a cautionary message to the people of Western Kenya, urging them to remain vigilant against President William Ruto’s political strategies.
Gachagua, speaking during a TikTok Live session on Thursday, January 23, claimed that Ruto employs calculated tactics to woo voters, drawing parallels to his experience in the Mt. Kenya region.
“I want to tell the people of Western Kenya to be very careful and learn from us. The President was here for five years, spending six days a week in the Mt. Kenya region, which is how he convinced us to vote for him,” Gachagua stated.
He alleged that Ruto’s frequent visits to Mt. Kenya before the elections were a ploy to secure the region’s support.
However, according to Gachagua, once the votes were secured, Ruto shifted focus and distanced himself from the region.
“You are just being wooed the same way he wooed the Mt. Kenya region. Now, he no longer comes here because we know him; he cannot use the same tactics again. He was in church every Sunday and knew every road by name. But now, he has disappeared because the people of Mt. Kenya know him. He deceived and conned us; we have seen that script before,” he added.
Gachagua went further, accusing Ruto of employing divisive tactics to instil fear and politically isolate the Mt. Kenya region.
“It’s only President Ruto who has a problem with the people of Mt. Kenya. He is the one who told MP Dan Wanyama to threaten the people of Mt. Kenya. What the President is trying to do is sell us fear and make the people of Mt. Kenya feel that if they don’t follow him blindly, they will be isolated,” Gachagua alleged.
Despite these claims, the former deputy president expressed confidence in Mt. Kenya’s resilience.
“The people of Mt. Kenya cannot buy fear from anybody. They are courageous and resilient. Let nobody be worried about isolation; it will not work,” he said.
His remarks come amid an escalating war of words between him and President Ruto.
Just a day earlier, during an address in Luanda, Vihiga County, Ruto criticized Gachagua, labelling him as incompetent and corrupt.
“There are some people who we gave work, and because of incompetence, not understanding anything, theft, conmanship, corruption, and hatred, their plan and work flopped. I want to tell them that they will continue failing because Kenya does not have any space for people who are corrupt, do not know how to work, and are tribalists,” Ruto said.
Ruto emphasized his administration’s commitment to unity and warned against leaders he described as divisive.
“We have no time for tribalist people who are incompetent and those who want to divide our nation into ethnic, parochial, and personal lines. We are united as a people, and Kenya is going to march forward as one indivisible country,” he asserted.
