Gachagua: Ruto should come clean on the Sh10 billion claim

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has dismissed President William Ruto’s allegation that he demanded Sh10 billion to manage Mt Kenya politics.

In an interview with KTN News on Monday night, Gachagua said the president should be clear about the exact figure and the real reason behind his removal from office.

“This impeachment was crafted by William Ruto, drafted by the National Intelligence Service and Kithure Kindiki (then Interior CS),” Gachagua claimed. 

“I did not blackmail the president. If that were the case, that would have been the first accusation during impeachment.”

He urged the president to settle on a consistent explanation. “The president should make up his mind on why he hounded me out of office.”

Gachagua further accused Ruto of changing his narrative depending on the region.

“In Western Kenya, he said I was incompetent and tribal. In North Eastern, he said I was divisive. In Nyanza, he called me primitive and corrupt. But when he came to Mt Kenya, none of that was mentioned. instead, he claimed I asked for Sh10 billion,” said Gachagua.

He denied the accusation, insisting he had financed Ruto’s presidential campaign out of personal commitment.

“I was in trouble with the previous administration because I was funding Ruto’s campaign,” he said, adding, “My accounts were frozen, my businesses blocked, and they tried to stop me. I invested heavily in his campaign. I’m not the type who to turn around and ask him for money.”

Gachagua’s remarks came in response to statements made by President Ruto at the start of his recent five-day tour of the Mt Kenya region.

Speaking in Sagana, Ruto said that tensions with Gachagua began shortly after taking office, claiming the former deputy demanded Sh10 billion and threatened political sabotage.

“I was told, ‘I can make you a one-term president unless you give me Sh10 billion to organise politics in the region.’ I refused. If my fate is to be a one-term president, so be it,” said Ruto.