Gachagua: Ruto runs 'dangerous one man show' government

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua when he attended mass at PEFA Church Kiamariga, Mathira, Nyeri, June 7, 2024. [Mose Sammy, Standard]

Former Deputy President, Rigathi Gachagua has criticised President William Ruto's leadership style, claiming that he runs the government single-handedly, which he termed as a dangerous style of leadership in this era.

Gachagua in his fresh tirade  against his former boss said the running of the Kenya Kwanza administration is a ‘one-man show' and that Ruto does not allow his ministers to give input in their respective dockets.

The former DP said phased out National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) only needed Sh800 million infrastructural upgrade, but the government went for the costly option, which is now being imposed on Kenyans and their concerns have been blatantly ignored.

“Under the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), Sh104 billion has been earmarked for system upgrade and that is the motivation behind being imposed on people, so that it can be split out, it is corruption money. It would have cost National Health Insurance Fund Sh800 million compared to Sh104 billion for SHIF,” he said.

Gachagua said he is not a ‘yes man’ and that is why he disagreed with the president about a year ago when he insisted on implementing projects opposed by a majority of Kenyans.

 “All the government plans you see are by the president, he does it all by himself and has a team called economic advisors. The ministers are ‘flower girls’, they have no say in the country. Even changing the ministers does not amount to anything. It is a one-man show, he says it all, no one questions him,” said Gachagua in an interview with Inooro TV on Sunday.

“I have heard of plans to bring other ministers on board, but nothing will change unless Ruto changes himself. He should allow ministers and principal secretaries to do their work, not just rubber stamping his decisions,” he added.

Although he was unwilling to speak on his political future, Gachagua said extensive discussions are still underway on which party to work with, noting that it is almost impossible to register a new one because the process would be frustrated.

“We will first build our house. We learn from previous mistakes that we gave our all to Ruto. This time, we will engage with others, such as Kalonzo Musyoka, Raila Odinga, Eugene Wamalwa, George Natembeya and so many others. Even Ruto is welcome to engage with us,” he explained.

When reminded that he was on the frontline of supporting government projects, Gachagua said he did it during the first year, but later got an opportunity to interact with the people and understood their concerns and raised the issues with the president.

He regretted the language Ruto's uses against Kenyans, who put him in office.

“Mr President, the style of leadership that involves abuses will make Kenyans dislike you even more, because they voted for you as their leader. It will not take this country anywhere; he should calm down and re-evaluate himself to understand where he lost his steps and why people are opposed to his decisions,” Gachagua insisted.

Gachagua said the president should consider, in his New Year speech, apologising to Kenyans for calling them names, he should not have uttered in the first place. He said Kenyans have a right to question the president when they feel the country is not headed in the right direction.

According to Gachagua, the president has not only betrayed Mt Kenya region but the entire country. He alleged that hopeKenyans vested in him to change the country has not been forthcoming.

He took a swipe at a section of Mount Kenya Mps, saying they have allowed their vested interests to guide them, as opposed to working for the good of the region.

The former deputy lauded the unity of Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), which he said saw them get a position in the broad-based Government.

He dismissed claims that he is a propagandist, saying that the concerns he has been raising are out in the open for every Kenyan to see.

Gachagua also insisted that his only fault was asking leaders to listen to what the people in the grassroots were saying, a call he said did not go down well with many.

“I was not impeached for I had committed any wrong to MPs, but because the president did not want me and he had made a decision he would not work with me. Ruto thought he would manipulate me, but he found that I was different. Senators were given Sh10 million, others Sh5 million, while some Mps were given Sh500,000… I told him I could not continue lying to Kenyans,” said Gachagua.

Gachagua said that since he was bundled out of office, he has been doing behind-the-scenes work of putting the ‘Mount Kenya house’ in order having learned a political lesson the hard way.

“We made a huge mistake, I own up to it and apologise to Kenyans. My work now is to speak with our people. No one can tell them the direction they should take, they tell their leaders instead. My big task is to speak with everyone and collecting views after being disrespected,” he said.

Mount Kenya being one of the biggest voting blocs, Gachagua affirmed that the region will never be taken for granted again, or vote without a direction.

“People should stop saying that I will give a direction, our house decides which one to take. I now have time to collect views on how to correct the wrongs we did and ensure we are respected. Once I am done, I will reach out and communicate the people’s verdict and decide on the way forward,” said Gachagua.

He added: “Already, I have heard so much about the direction the people have vowed to take. Some are saying they will not go back to where they have come from, while others are saying making one mistake is not wrong, but it is wrong to repeat the same mistake.”

The former DP has called for the reconstitution of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in line with the Kriegler Commission’s recommendation that it should be in place at least three years before general elections, to prepare effectively.