They Were Threatened - Gachagua Speaks After North Eastern Journalists Boycott His Interview

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has claimed that journalists from North Eastern Kenya boycotted his interview after receiving threats.

Speaking on Thursday, January 22 night, Gachagua said local media stations from North Eastern reached out to him requesting an interview.

He noted that he was on holiday in Mombasa County but agreed to the interview and flew back to Nairobi for it.

“Since I spoke out, radio stations from the North Eastern region have been looking for me, wanting to interview me. They said people from Garissa, Mandera, Wajir, Marsabit, and Isiolo had strongly pushed them.

“When those radio stations contacted me, I was on holiday in Mombasa. I said that if the people of North Eastern wanted to listen to me, then I had to speak to them, so I took a flight and came back,” said Gachagua.

The former DP alleged that journalists from North Eastern radio stations received threats and were intimidated, leading them to boycott the interview.

Gachagua claimed that leaders from the five counties in Northern Kenya did not want the truth to come out.

“Those radio stations were supposed to interview me, but since yesterday, they have been threatened and intimidated. Fear has been instilled in them because leaders from those five counties do not want the truth to come out.

“They want to continue misleading the people of North Eastern, claiming that they are marginalized and that the problems there are due to marginalization. They knew that I would explain to residents the real reasons why poverty has continued to persist,” Gachagua alleged.

This comes after the North Kenya Media Practitioners announced they have cancelled their planned interview with Gachagua.

In a statement on Thursday, the journalists explained that their choice followed extensive internal discussions and was guided by their professional values.

"It is with deep regret that we inform our esteemed audience of our collective decision to terminate the planned roundtable interview scheduled with Hon. Rigathi Gachagua.

"After careful consideration and internal deliberations, we have concluded that proceeding with the interview would not align with our core principles of responsible journalism, national unity, and constructive public discourse," the statement read.

The media group said they had been monitoring Gachagua’s recent statements and felt they were increasingly harmful to social cohesion.

"We have been closely following the recent public statements and rhetoric, which have increasingly been characterized as divisive, often emphasizing ethnic and regional divisions at a time when Kenya needs voices that unite rather than polarize," the statement added.

The move triggered sharp criticism from senior lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi, who argued that the media had a duty to challenge Gachagua through tough questioning rather than silencing him.

He insisted that disagreeing with a politician’s views was not a valid reason to deny them a platform.

"The media cannot boycott him because they disagree with him; the media expresses an opinion only when rendering an editorial. They should have interviewed him and asked him all the hard and difficult questions they had in mind. Boycotting Gachagua by NFD media is a stupid act of journalistic cowardice," he said.