‘Be a gentleman and keep your promise!’ Gachagua tells Ruto on disrespect, humiliation in Gov’t

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has seemingly confirmed the existence of discord between himself and his boss, President William Ruto, amid his silence during a time when the Head of State’s allies have subjected him to endless insults.

In a tell-all interview with Citizen TV on Friday, Gachagua pointed out a pattern of the Deputy President's office facing backlash from the President's allies, citing a similar scenario when Ruto was former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s deputy during the Jubilee tenure.

He referenced the promise that President Ruto made during the 2022 campaign season, confirming that he would not allow his deputy to be demeaned, if he assumed the presidency, the way he had been under Uhuru.

“Very many deputy presidents are fought. It is an unfortunate situation. Given an opportunity, I would not allow my deputy president to be humiliated the way former deputy presidents have been humiliated and the way I have been humiliated,” Ruto said in an interview on Citizen TV in April 2021.

Gachagua, however, now seemingly implies that Ruto has turned back on his word, noting that he began facing stiff opposition in only the second year of the Kenya Kwanza administration.

"It looks like there's a jinx around the office of the deputy president. President Ruto had a very rough time to work with former President Uhuru Kenyatta. But at least he had five years to work very well without any disturbance, I have only done one year, and what is happening to me is worse than what happened to Ruto," Gachagua said.

"President Ruto gave a promise when he was complaining about the way he was prosecuted, demeaned, mistreated, and harassed. He committed that under his watch if they elect him as President, his deputy would not be diminished, harassed, disrespected or prosecuted."

Appealing to the President, Gachagua urged him to honour his promise by protecting him from the barrage of attacks from other elected leaders allied to him, including Cabinet Secretaries and top State officials.

"Cabinet Secretaries are abusing the deputy president. Today, the DP is abused, and the President is quiet. He has given many promises to Kenyans, some of which he has not been able to fulfill because of the difficult economic situation that we're in. There's one promise he gave that requires no finance, that requires him to be a gentleman and keep that promise," he noted.

"I think my President owes that to the people of Kenya…to honour it, so that he can win the trust of Kenyans. It requires no financing, or urging, it's a commitment he gave to me, my wife, and my children when he asked me to be his running mate."

Gachagua went on to note that the President is required to call his house in order by cracking the whip on errant politicians within the ruling party.