Talks of uniting Mt.Kenya region are useless, CS Kuria to DP Gachagua

Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria. [File, Standard]

Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has once again criticised Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, dismissing the ongoing discussions about unity in the Mt Kenya region as futile. 

Speaking on Citizen TV, Kuria accused the Deputy President of being a divisive figure in the Mt Kenya region.

“He is going to lead to their [Mt Kenya region] isolation. The Deputy President is misleading the people of Kenya,” Kuria said in the Tuesday night interview.

Gachagua has been under political scrutiny from some leaders who have criticised and rejected his bid for unity in Mt Kenya. He has since accused them of being ‘spies’ sent to undermine the Mt Kenya region.

“These people have been sent to spy and betray us, just like in the war for independence when a small group of people agreed to work with colonial masters to sell out their community, but they did not succeed, because we know them,” Gachagua explained in a previous interview.

When asked about a potential fallout between President William Ruto and his deputy Gachagua, Kuria rubbished the claims saying;

“Unlike William Ruto who had one duty, which was defined and implemented as principal assistant to the president when he was the deputy president, the current deputy president is a very fortunate man; he chairs Cabinet Committees."

"The deputy president is in charge of development partners…the deputy president has been assigned duties to do with coffee and tea and is leading our efforts against alcoholism, he is in charge of State honours. He is such a privileged man given the history of where we have come from, remember he is the second Deputy President following the 2010 constitution. From where I sit,I do not have empirical evidence of any problem between the president and the deputy.”

Leaders allied to President Ruto have criticised Gachagua’s call for unity in the Mt Kenya region and the one-man one-vote one-shilling revenue formula, terming the move as tribal balkanisation.

However, the Deputy President maintained that he would continue assisting his boss to run the country and at the same time, safeguard the interests of his Mt Kenya region.