By The Weekly Vision Reporter
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has launched a scathing attack on President William Ruto’s administration, accusing it of betraying campaign promises, weakening the rule of law, allowing state capture and failing to protect Kenyans. Gachagua made the accusations yesterday at the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) headquarters in Nairobi during what he described as a “Ruto at Four” accountability address.
He accused President Ruto of abandoning his campaign commitments to uphold the rule of law, professionalise the National Police Service, protect human rights and ensure that security agencies are held accountable. “Four years later, Mr William Ruto has betrayed the trust bestowed upon him by the people of Kenya, betrayed the fruits and foundation of our nation that have been built by previous administrations under the various development blueprints such as Vision 2030,” Gachagua said.
The former Deputy President presented his address as a performance audit of the Ruto administration, saying it was an accountability report demanded by Kenyans four years after the Ruto-Gachagua ticket won the August 2022 presidential election.
Gachagua accused the government of allowing what he called “goonism and drug abuse” to flourish, while claiming that Kenya had become “a bedrock of extrajudicial killings and an abductors’ playground”. “Kenyans are not safe, our children are not safe, investors are not safe and foreigners are not safe,” he said.
He cited what he claimed were more than 700 cases of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances since late 2022. Gachagua said the government had failed to uphold its responsibility to protect citizens and ensure accountability within the security services.
His allegations come amid continuing public debate over reports of abductions, enforced disappearances and deaths linked to security operations. The government has previously rejected allegations that it sanctions or supports unlawful killings and abductions.
Gachagua also accused the Ruto administration of presiding over what he described as extensive state capture. He alleged that the President had centralised control of State commissions, public procurement and government assets, claiming that the system was being used to enrich individuals at the expense of ordinary Kenyans.
He further alleged that Ruto had become a “US dollar billionaire” through access to public resources. Gachagua also claimed that the government borrows an average of KSh3.5 billion every day while allegedly losing KSh3 billion daily through theft and corruption. He did not provide detailed evidence to substantiate the figures or the allegation that President Ruto had personally accumulated wealth through public funds.
Gachagua’s accusations were swiftly rejected by government allies, led by National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah. Ichung’wah dismissed the address as political rhetoric from a bitter former insider and accused Gachagua of making reckless allegations without providing evidence.
The exchange has further deepened the political rivalry between Gachagua and the Ruto administration, nearly two years after Gachagua was removed from office following his impeachment by Parliament. Gachagua also claimed that attempts had been made by intelligence officials and people close to the President to obtain the contents of his address before he delivered it. He said he personally prepared the statement and kept its contents away from the government. “I did the statement myself and mama boys typed it for me. So, William Ruto and your people, unless you can get through to mama boys, you cannot get to know the content,” he said.
The former Deputy President said his objective was to give Kenyans what he described as an independent assessment of the administration’s performance.
