Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua shifted blame for the nationwide protests onto National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director General Noordin Haji Wednesday, calling for his resignation and holding him accountable for the lives lost.
Gachagua labeled Haji as the weakest link in their administration.
In an unprecedented escalation of political tensions, Gachagua criticised Haji for the Tuesday anti-government protests. He claimed that NIS failed to adequately inform the president about the widespread opposition to the Finance Bill 2024.
In stark contrast to his boss’s speech in Nairobi, the Deputy President accused NIS of dysfunctionality and alleged their involvement in abducting youth protesters. He described Haji as an incompetent civil servant who misled Ruto with incorrect intelligence briefs.
“It is embarrassing that it had to take protests, deaths, and destruction of properties for the president to realise the extent of the problem. NIS embarrassed the president,” he said.
In a startling revelation, Gachagua asserted that he has been isolated within the Kenya Kwanza Government for speaking truth to civil servants, partly due to Haji’s briefings to Ruto.
“Haji was peddling lies and propaganda trying to implicate former president Uhuru and me that we are the behind the chaos. I’m that the president has admitted that it was because of the anger of the people,” said Gachagua.
The Deputy President, who has clashed with some of President Ruto’s close allies, demanded that Haji take responsibility for the deaths and resign.
“Haji was a junior NIS officer who became Director of Public Prosecutions before assuming NIS directorship. Due to inferiority complex, he pushed out three experienced NIS directors and 13 assistant directors, causing our current predicament,” he continued.
Gachagua criticised changes under Haji, leaving NIS ineffectual and preventing Ruto from receiving crucial intelligence to prevent national unrest.
“Had Haji done his job, the president would have been informed of the protests in Nairobi, Mombasa, and other cities,” Gachagua asserted.
“NIS is behind the abduction of protestors. If the son of the Attorney General can be abducted and to be held incommunicado for 18 hours, what about normal citizens,” posed the DP.
Gachagua condemned NIS as a rogue agency reminiscent of past abuses like abductions, extrajudicial killings, and detention without trial.
“We pledged that security agencies would not interfere in politics. I’m committed to upholding that promise,” declared Gachagua from his Mombasa residence.
However, Gachagua vowed to fearlessly speak the truth, elected by Kenyans like Ruto, and questioned government policies such as demolishing houses along Nairobi River.
He urged the government to compensate families affected by Tuesday’s protests and cover hospital bills for those injured nationwide.
“The Sh10,000 offered to evicted Nairobi River residents is inadequate and must be increased,” Gachagua insisted.
In an impassioned plea to Gen Z, Gachagua asked them to cancel today’s planned demonstrations to facilitate dialogue.
He criticized the police for using live ammunition against peaceful protesters, denouncing loss of life and intimidation tactics.
Earlier, a remorseful Gachagua paid tribute to youth killed by police during Tuesday’s nationwide protests against the Finance Bill 2024.
He asked thousands of secondary school principals meeting in Mombasa to observe a moment of silence for the youths and police officers who lost their lives during the unrest across the country.