Gachagua pledges to scrap Housing Levy, focus on debt recovery in presidential bid

Speaking a day after officially launching his presidential campaign, Gachagua dismissed critics who claimed he lacked a clear agenda, insisting that restoring the nation’s financial health would be his top priority.

“I will not stand before Kenyans and lie that I will build roads when the country is buried under a debt of 12 trillion shillings. My focus is to properly restore the state of our nation,” he said.

Gachagua drew parallels with the leadership style of the late President Mwai Kibaki, pledging to reverse key policies introduced by President William Ruto, including the controversial housing levy.

“On my first day in office, I will scrap the housing levy and hand over all those houses to county governments. They will collect rent and compensate all those whose money was unfairly deducted,” he declared.

The former Deputy President also took aim at President Ruto, accusing him of belittling his education and leadership abilities.

Gachagua invoked the legacy of Kibaki, who studied at Makerere University and the London School of Economics, noting that despite his academic credentials, the former president remained humble.