Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has intensified his political offensive against President William Ruto, accusing him of state brutality, political deception, and failed leadership, while vowing to lead a people-driven effort to make him a one-term president in 2027.
Addressing the nation in a no-holds-barred statement, Gachagua dismissed claims of a plot to overthrow the government, saying the real plan is to peacefully remove Ruto from power at the ballot box. He said Kenyans are more angry than the President, whose recent outbursts show a leader rattled by public rejection.
In one of the strongest indictments of the Ruto administration yet, Gachagua claimed the violence that marred the July 7 Saba Saba protests was not accidental, but a calculated operation led by a killer squad disguised as DCI officers. According to him, this militia was armed, coordinated under the National Intelligence Service, and given the task of silencing protesters. He alleged that the officers used unmarked Subarus and carried out executions in estates and streets — all under the command of senior state operatives.
The Deputy President linked the current wave of repression to Ruto’s past, suggesting that the tactics echo the period when his ICC cases were active before witnesses disappeared. He warned that the President is revisiting unfinished business, this time targeting Mt. Kenya.
Gachagua also pointed to selective justice in how the state handled the burning of Magunas Supermarket in Meru. He noted that MP Rindikiri Mugambi had predicted the attack in the presence of senior government officials, yet no action has been taken against him — a sign, he said, that the regime is protecting its insiders while persecuting innocent citizens.
In a striking reversal of position, Gachagua said Mt. Kenya deeply regrets ignoring former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s warnings in 2022. He blamed Ruto for political instability that affected both the Kibaki and Uhuru administrations, and said the region now sees clearly who the problem has always been.
He further dismissed the idea that only the Kikuyu community wants Ruto gone, stating that citizens across Kenya have rejected the President’s leadership. He noted that many Kenyans have now declared, “If Ruto thinks only Kikuyus want him out, then we are all Kikuyus.”
Gachagua’s remarks mark a deepening of the internal rift within the Kenya Kwanza administration and set the stage for a fierce political battle ahead of 2027. As pressure mounts and the country reels from economic hardship and rising authoritarianism, the Deputy President appears ready to position himself as the alternative voice — one that promises to bring down the regime not by force, but by votes.
