Kenya Kwanza share deal exposed in filing

President William Ruto during the launch of Kenya Kwanza Alliance manifesto. [File, Standard]

New details filed in court reveal how Kenya Kwanza’s political shareholding arrangement fueled the feud between former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and President William Ruto, ultimately leading to his removal from office.

The revelations appear in a fresh affidavit in Gachagua’s impeachment case, filed at the High Court on Thursday.

The evidence, submitted by advocate Peter Kimani Koira, also the 15th petitioner in the 40 impeachment cases, claims that the coalition’s 2022 election deal allowed Ruto to secure at least 20 per cent of government appointments for his Kalenjin community while unfairly targeting Gachagua for implementing the same policy.

According to the affidavit, Gachagua was merely executing a policy formally endorsed by the coalition while facing impeachment.

Koira argues that Parliament “crucified unfairly” the former deputy president, while Ruto remained the true architect and implementer of the political shareholding framework outlined in the Kenya Kwanza manifesto and coalition agreement.

The petitioners contend that Gachagua was impeached for allegedly promoting ethnic division and allocating government positions based on political shareholding tied to voting patterns from the August 9, 2022, General Election.

However, they maintain that the concept of shareholding was embedded in the Kenya Kwanza Coalition Agreement and manifesto long before the impeachment process began. Copies of both documents, attached to the affidavit, explicitly provide for power-sharing among coalition parties.

Article 21 of the coalition agreement, titled “Sharing of National Government Responsibilities,” outlines nomination rights and percentage allocation of public offices among partner parties.

It specifies that the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) would nominate the presidential and deputy presidential candidates, while Amani National Congress (ANC) and Ford-Kenya would each receive a 30 per cent share of government positions.

The distribution covered Cabinet Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, and heads of parastatals, based on votes contributed by the respective parties.Koira maintains that while Gachagua faced impeachment over allegations of tribalism and misuse of office, the President retained ultimate authority over appointments, effectively shielding himself from scrutiny.

“As Deputy President, the1st Petitioner had no legal powers to appoint or dismiss any person to public office,” Koira states, adding that “final responsibility for establishing and advocating a government based on the Kenya Kwanza coalition agreement rested with President Ruto.”

Central to the affidavit is a quotation attributed to President Ruto during a public rally in Kandara Constituency, Murang’a County, in late 2022, where he spoke openly about “shareholders” in government.

The remarks, reproduced in Swahili with English translation, underline that the shareholding principle was official policy, not a personal doctrine of Gachagua. The petitioners argue that appointments reflected “disproportionate over-representation” of certain communities, particularly the President’s Kalenjin community, even after Gachagua’s removal.

Gachagua was impeached by the National Assembly and removed by the Senate on charges including advocating ethnic division and championing government policies that allocated jobs based on political shareholding.

Hearings are scheduled to begin on April 14, 2026, and are expected to determine the legality of Gachagua’s impeachment, the first removal of a Deputy President through parliamentary action in Kenya’s history.