Trade Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui has criticized former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua after he urged the Donald Trump administration to conduct a Venezuela-style operation in Kenya and arrest suspects linked to the Minnesota fraud.
In a statement on Monday, January 5, CS Kinyanjui took issue with Gachagua’s remarks, saying the DCP leader failed to differentiate political rivalry from matters of international importance.
“The DCP leader has been quoted requesting the intervention of the USA to investigate Kenya’s leadership over allegations of sponsorship through funds linked to the Minnesota fraud case. Never mind, it’s on the very party he was the running mate.
“While the province of investigations does not belong to me, the sheer lack of wisdom in failing to distinguish between political differences and matters of grave international significance is alarming,” said Kinyanjui.
The Trade Cabinet Secretary wondered why Gachagua wants to throw the country into what he termed as a deep end for political revenge.
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CS Kinyanjui termed the former Deputy Presidents’ remarks as retrogressive and driven by greed and naivety.
“How can a leader seek to throw his own country into the deep end merely to score personal revenge?
“This brand of politics is retrogressive and dangerous. It reflects raw greed and naivety in handling matters that could have potentially catastrophic consequences,” he added.
Speaking on Sunday, January 4, during a church service at AIPCA Kiratina in Kiambu County, Gachagua asked the US government to accelerate its investigation into linked to the stolen funds from Minnesota.
He claimed that the stolen funds were used to sponsor President William Ruto’s campaigns ahead of the 2022 general election.
Gachagua said the Trump administration should adopt the same strategy he used to apprehend Venezuela's President and arrest the linked suspects in Kenya.
“There is a mall in Eastleigh that was built with that money. The owner of that mall is a business partner of the President. Trump has said he wants to take these people from here, and we welcome that. But yesterday, the President was busy making plans on how the courts would block these people from being extradited.
“We are asking Trump not to bother with the extradition process in Kenya, just do what you did in Venezuela. Send your people with a plane, pick that person up and go charge them,” Gachagua said.
