NAIROBI, Kenya Sep 20 – Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua says he is prepared for his potential impeachment, as political tensions between him and President William Ruto continue to escalate.
Speaking during an exclusive interview with Citizen TV on Friday night, Gachagua revealed he is aware of a plot to oust him from government.
“Everyone knows about it. There was a meeting in Nyahururu and another at a Cabinet Secretary’s house in Kitisuru, Nairobi, where this plot was hatched. It’s not a secret,” Gachagua stated. “Let them go ahead. If they table a motion to remove me, so be it.”
Gachagua claimed money has exchanged hands for MPs to pass the impeachment bill but he did not give further details when asked how much money was given to the leaders.
He warned, however, that such a motion would require the approval of the president. “No motion to impeach a deputy president can be tabled in Parliament without the president’s knowledge. So, if it’s tabled, it must have that approval,” Gachagua said. “I am asking the president to stop this because it could destabilize the country.”
Gachagua also announced his intention to speak out publicly. “I will no longer keep quiet. I started today at Marikiti Market, and you will see more of this. I will speak out,” he asserted.
The deputy president expressed disappointment that President Ruto has not upheld a promise made during the election campaign. “The president assured me that I wouldn’t face intimidation, as he did when he was Uhuru Kenyatta’s deputy. But today, what’s happening to me is worse than what he experienced.”
When asked about his absence from some key presidential events, Gachagua said he had been removed from a WhatsApp group containing the president’s diary. “I no longer have access to the president’s schedule. Myself and my team were removed by the president’s Private Secretary, Mr. Maiyo. It’s very petty.”
At the same time, Gachagua refuted claims that he bullies Members of Parliament and other elected leaders in the ruling Kenya Kwanza administration. In the interview with Citizen TV’s Sam Gituku at his Karen residence, Gachagua clarified that his straightforwardness is being mistaken for bullying.
“I don’t bully anybody. I am just truthful. I ask MPs to listen to the people, and they call that bullying. It’s not bullying—it’s being truthful,” he stated. According to Gachagua, those accusing him are in denial, as they want to hold onto lies.
On the abandonment by most MPs from his Nyeri home county, Gachagua blamed coercion from higher powers. “We have a problem in this country—people don’t want to hear the truth. Those MPs are good people but are under a lot of coercion and intimidation,” he said.
“If they want to be coerced to fight me, that’s their choice. They have a date with the people in due time, and I am not bothered.”
Despite the criticisms, Gachagua insisted he remains focused on what matters most—his relationship with the electorate. “It doesn’t matter what they say. What matters is that the people of Nyeri are with me. Forty-four MCAs and the Governor of Nyeri support me.”
This comes after Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja and Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah launched similar attacks, accusing Gachagua of bullying and belittling other leaders. Sakaja, in a June UDA Delegates Conference at Bomas, described Gachagua as a “bully” involved in Nairobi’s affairs. “You can’t bully people for two years and then cry when you’re called out for a week,” Sakaja remarked.
Ichung’wah also accused Gachagua of using intimidation tactics. “Many MPs from Mt Kenya dissociated themselves from the DP due to his desperation and attempts to intimidate them,” he said at a past rally.
