Editor's Review

"Blackmail is a criminal offense, it should have been accusation number one but it did not appear anywhere."

Rigathi Gachagua has dismissed claims that he blackmailed President William Ruto during his tenure as the Deputy President.

Speaking on Monday, April 7, Gachagua described the allegations as baseless, further accusing Ruto of orchestrating his removal from office.

"I did not blackmail President William Ruto because if I did, that would be the first accusation during my impeachment. This impeachment was drafted by President William Ruto, the National Intelligence Service (NIS), and Deputy President Kithure Kindiki. Blackmail is a criminal offense, it should have been accusation number one but it did not appear anywhere," he said.

Gachagua also questioned the timing and nature of the accusation, noting that Ruto made the accusation ahead of his Mt. Kenya tour.

The former DP called out Ruto for offering shifting justifications for his impeachment and challenged the President to offer a consistent explanation.

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"Since October 18, 2024, the President has never talked about my impeachment until recently when he was visiting Mt. Kenya. When he went to Western Kenya, he said he got rid of me because I was incompetent and tribal; when he went to North Eastern Kenya, he told them that he got rid of me because I was divisive and I don't like the unity of the country; when he went to Nyanza, he said I am primitive and corrupt. The President should better make up his mind on why he hounded me out of office," he added.

File image of President William Ruto and former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua

In an interview on Monday, March 31, Ruto alleged that Gachagua had tried to blackmail him.

According to the President, the former DP began targeting him politically after falling out with several Members of Parliament. 

Ruto claimed that Gachagua had demanded Ksh10 billion, threatening that failure to comply would cost him his re-election in 2027.

"At some point, I told Rigathi Gachagua to stop fighting the MPs, but he now shifted his fights to me, claiming that he could make me a one-term president if I did not meet his demands. He demanded Ksh10 billion so that he could go talk with the people of the Mt. Kenya region, but I told him I would not do it.

"I told him that if I would only serve for one term, then there is no problem. I told him if he is the one who decides who will serve how many terms, then he was at liberty to make that decision," he said.