How Gachagua is using Ruto's style book to win public support

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua adresses the press at his office in Mombasa where he blamed NIS for not advising President William Ruto following anti-Finance Bill demonstration by youths. [Omondi Onyango, Standard]

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s abrasive politics bear a striking resemblance to the style deployed by President William Ruto when he was former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s deputy.

Like Ruto, Gachagua has learned the art of taking credit out of government projects while disassociating himself from unpopular government decisions that may impede his political ambitions. He has at the same time learned playing the victim, a political strategy that has worked wonders as his popularity has accelerated recently in Mt Kenya region.

On Wednesday, Gachagua made startling revelations, blaming National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director General Noordin Haji for failing to advise the President that the Finance Bill 2024 was very unpopular.

And he does not fear contradicting his boss—in stark contrast to his boss’s speech in Nairobi that there were no more extrajudicial killing after he too, accused NIS of dysfunctionality and alleged their involvement in abducting youthful protesters. He described Haji as an incompetent civil servant who fed Ruto with incorrect intelligence briefs.

“It is embarrassing that it had to take protests, deaths, and destruction of properties for the President to realize the extent of the problem. NIS embarrassed the President,” he said.

In an unprecedented escalation of political tensions, Gachagua  criticized Haji for the Tuesday anti-government protests and claimed that NIS failed to adequately inform the President about the widespread opposition to the Finance Bill 2024.

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 ones behind the chaos. I'm sure that the President has admitted that it was because of the anger of the people,” said Gachagua.

The DP also talked about the extrajudicial killings where he accused NIS of carrying out abductions and committing extra-judicial killings.

 “I want to call upon overzealous heads of security agencies not to be tempted to use the criminal justice system to manage politics. Let us manage politics the conventional way through reaching out consensus and concurrence,” he said.

He added “I am informed that MPs who voted 'no' have already been targeted by the NIS for harassment for their political stand. This is a promise the President and I gave to the people of Kenya that never again shall we use the criminal justice system to manage politics,” Gachagua remarked.

In a striking resemblance, Ruto in 2020 claimed that Uhuru excluded him from the National Security Council meetings over his demand for answers over, among others, extra-judicial killings.

He alleged President Uhuru barred him from the council’s meetings for three years after he demanded answers regarding what he termed as 'murderous schemes'.

And just like Gachagua was publicly venting about Haji, Ruto claimed he had severed ties with then NIS Director General Philip Wachira Kameru on several occasions.

“If you spoke to the Director of Intelligence, and I am saying this because someone is listening somewhere, I have raised it with him [Wachira] - when he would still pick my calls. I had serious concerns about what was happening in many parts of our country, including Moyale. I remember calling him one time and telling him it can’t have gotten here,” said DP Ruto in a TV interview with KTN News.

He added, “That is why I have put it in the Kenya Kwanza manifesto that extra-judicial killings must come to an end. It is illegal, unconstitutional and offends every principle of the right to life… I have not attended the security council meetings because of the questions that I asked.”

On Wednesday, Gachagua raised concerns on the return of extra judicial killings saying “I want to say that the President and I gave a promise to Kenyans that the issue of abductions and extra-judicial killings will never happen again. Sadly, this is back.”

The DP wondered what would happen to ordinary Kenyans, noting that the NIS abducted the son of Attorney General Justin Muturi and held him incommunicado for 18 hours.

While Ruto was the second in command, he claimed that MPs allied to him were being targeted by the police and accused the Uhuru Kenyatta-led administration of weaponizing State agencies to manage politics and removing his allies from the National Assembly and Senate leadership.

Gachagua had earlier last week claimed that his allies were being threatened to be denied development projects. On Wednesday he claimed MPs who voted against the Finance Bill were being targeted by NIS.

 And while Gachagua was painting a picture of an isolated man, he has in the recent past enumerated the government projects while taking credit for the same. He took credit for the coffee debt waiver and the increased milk prices in April a script that Ruto introduced while he told Uhuru off for allegedly trying to block him for taking credit from the Jubilee achievements.

Political analyst Charles Njoroge said Ruto got his march to deputize him as he had proved that he was not a walk over.

“These episodes showed that Gachagua had closely followed his boss’ script and was effectively implementing it.  It shows the political unfolding may be a replica of what happened between 2013 to 2022,” he said.