Not so fast! Kenyans remind Gachagua of past remarks on violent crackdown on protests

Ever since he was ungraciously kicked out of power in October 2024, Gachagua has been on a warpath with his former boss and his entire government, exposing the ills only a former insider would know.

Majority of his exposes have been well received and people are baying for more, but it looks like Kenyans will not just start clapping and eating up everything he says.

Questions still linger on why Gachagua, once the purveyor of government propaganda and supporting all its flaws, is now wearing a sanity cloak.

This emerged this week when he decided to castigate the government for its crackdown on peaceful Kenyans who were protesting the killing of teacher and blogger Albert Ojwang.

The government, using police and hired goons, violently manhandled the protesters, with one innocent bystander being shot at pointblank range by a police officer. That man - Boniface Mwangi Kariuki - is still fighting for his life in hospital after undergoing a second surgery.

"Today, we have witnessed one of the lowest moments of our post-independence, Kenya. It is uncivilized to sink our nation into an international shame by a clueless regime that has no value and dignity for human life," Gachagua posted on his X account.

"Young people and patriotic Kenyans expressing themselves on the death of an innocent Albert Ojwang have been beaten up, their property destroyed, and lives lost in the peaceful protests. Kenyans enjoying their constitutional right to Assembly and Expression are invaded by the police and state sponsored goons under the full glare of the camera, and the whole world stages our nation as a pariah state Mr. President."

Many Kenyans were quick to remind Gachagua that barely 12 months ago, he was on the government side and supported the violent crackdown of protests and would chide those opposed to the ill-fated Finance Bill.

He displayed endless stratagems of how he was an early riser, pushed by his determination to serve the nation and always arrived at his office in Harambee House in the wee hours.

Days later, as he toured the Mt. Kenya region with President Ruto, Gachagua defended the brutal police action, noting that protestors taking part in the demonstrations invited the police to attack them.

He urged the security officers to stay put and not be bothered by criticism from the opposition.

"You cannot go to the streets destroying property and expect police to come kiss you," said Gachagua then.

Away even from the protests, Gachagua declared himself the president's main defender and would castigate anyone who went against his boss turned foe.

In 2023, Gachagua went for the opposition’s jugular, maintaining a bitter tiff with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga on how he would not allow any room for dialogue between him and President Ruto.

Gachagua was willing to fight tooth and nail to defend President Ruto and took no prisoners when it came to making enemies while protecting the President.

In a Sunday service held in Nandi County sometime last year, Gachagua vowed that he would not allow any individual planning ill against President Ruto to triumph.

He warned those planning to attack the President to be ready to first face him before going to his boss.

"Whoever is planning something against President Ruto should be prepared to face me because that is my job. My work is to protect him," he said then.

According to the report by the Controller of Budget (COB), the office of the President had spent Ksh.2.3 billion on travel, fuel, hospitality and maintenance of motor vehicles alone for the period October 2022 to March 2023, compared to President Uhuru Kenyatta's expenditure during the same period last year which clocked at Ksh.852 million

Gachagua however accused the media of lacking objectivity in reporting, arguing that as it criticizes the government on its expenditure, it should also report on the gains it has made.

"Yesterday morning I found another headline saying that for the time you have been in office you (Ruto) have spent three times what your predecessors spent on local and international travel but these people were not honest enough and objective to also outline the level of activities you have carried out in that period because cost is determined by the level of activity," he said.

"So I invite the media to find out when the President has travelled and to which country, what is the gain for the country. It is only then that you can make an objective analysis."

“They tried to frustrate him but because there is God, Kenyans voted for him and he defeated them. They had set up obstacles for him. Won’t the 2027 election be a downhill task?” posed Gachagua during a public address in Busia County.

He also urged Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries to ensure that they recorded stellar performances in their Ministries, asserting that he would not allow anyone to dent Ruto's legacy, terming it his own performance contract with the electorate.

He however started losing favour with the State after he showed a stark friction between him and his boss over the anti-tax protests in June 2024.

Gachagua condemned the death of young protesters and the use of brutal force by officers, while President Ruto, who had spoken minutes before, defended the move by police to protect citizens from “terrorists”.

“It is now time for restraint and reflection to avid recurrence of these unprecedented events. It is embarrassing to me that it has taken protests for the president to know the truth,” said Gachagua during an address in Mombasa then.

“Where did the rain start to beat us? President Ruto and I were the darlings of the people by listening to them and engaging them. I know President William Ruto. Had he known two months ago that the people of Kenya did not want anything to do with the Finance Bill 2024, he would not have asked his Parliamentary party to push it through.”

Few months later, Gachagua also showed clear annoyance after President Ruto welcomed dialogue with Mr. Odinga.

Gachagua disowned his loyalty to the government days after being impeached in October and decided to launch a spirited attack on the State, revealing how leadership has been intoxicated by corruption and nepotism.

He started calling out President Ruto for the failed healthcare system and the blatant disregard of the law by misappropriating funds and driving the economy to the gutters.

Posing as a saint and a casualty, Gachagua continued accusing the President of being a traitor, faulting him for deceiving the electorate from the Mt. Kenya region for spitting at their support during the 2022 polls.

Gachagua started lobbying the region to withdraw their support for Mr. Ruto and the ruling administration, urging them to scrutinize leaders in the next polls.

"We as the Mt. Kenya people hate two things; lies and betrayal. Never again shall we find ourselves in the hole we are in," said Gachagua at a past address.

"President Ruto, my friend, did a good thing to bring this fight against me and the people of the mountain because now we know him. Now we understand you (Ruto) and we will address you as we know you and who you are. Now we will have talks with respect."

Gachagua alleged that he was targeted by the State, claiming that he was being followed by unmarked cars and goons were always sent to disrupt his public meetings.

He started having meetings with top-brass leaders among them People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua and her Wiper Party counterpart Kalonzo Musyoka to forge what is now an opposition front.

He has even launched a political party, the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP), vowing to challenge President Ruto’s administration and make any chance of his re-election in the 2027 general election unlikely.

He has become a maestro of coming up with anti-government chants, among them ”Wantam” which he has used to refer President Ruto as a one-term president.

Recently, during the anti-police killing protests in Nairobi, Gachagua took on the President and the administration, faulting them for using brutal force against youthful protesters, remarks he would have never espoused while he was in office.

Protesters took to the streets on June 17, calling for the arrest of Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Eliud  Lagat over the murder of teacher Albert Ojwang’.

A vendor was shot in the head in Nairobi’s CBD, prompting Gachagua’s response.

“Kenyans enjoying their constitutional right to assembly and expression are invaded by the police and state-sponsored goons under the full glare of the camera, and the whole world stages our nation as a pariah state Mr. President.,” he wrote on X.

“What is this obsession with the regime with the blood of young people? Why do you continue to paint our country with innocent blood?”

He added: “It is uncivilized to sink our nation into an international shame by a clueless regime that has no value and dignity for human life.”

Gachagua has now been put on the hot seat as he seems to be two-faced and the persona he wears depends on the side of the table he sits.