Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has dismissed President William Ruto’s claims that he frequently picked unnecessary fights, forcing the president to mediate minor disputes.
In an exclusive interview with KTN News, Gachagua instead accused Farouk, a close aide of the president, of wielding undue influence within the Kenya Kwanza administration.
He further alleged that Kibet relays instructions from the president to cabinet secretaries, describing him as a man cabinet members “tremble at the very sight of.”
“Ruto said I was fighting Farouk Kibet. Farouk Kibet is not a small man, he is a co-president of this country. Farouk Kibet runs the government; everybody reports to him: the Inspector General of Police, the Head of Public Service, and Cabinet Secretaries. William Ruto issues instructions to Cabinet ministers through Farouk Kibet. Ministers tremble at his very sight,” he said.
The former DP recounted a specific incident where Farouk attempted to issue instructions regarding his office operations, a move he strongly resisted.
“There’s no way I would allow Farouk to give me instructions. He tried to run my office, make appointments, and at first, I thought maybe that’s how President Ruto wanted us to work,” he said.
However, Gachagua said he later discovered that Farouk was allegedly soliciting money from individuals seeking appointments with him.
He reported the matter to the president, who then dismissed it as a non-issue.
The former DP also denied claims that he threatened to have Members of Parliament fired last December. Instead, he said he urged them to listen to public concerns over the high cost of living.
“I told MPs that people do not want the Finance Bill; don’t follow the president blindly. If you don’t adjust by December, you risk backlash from the people,” he said.
In an interview on Monday, March 31, Ruto revealed Gachagua’s political battles with junior government officials including blogger Dennis Itumbi and Farouk.
The President revealed that the former DP’s conflicts began soon after the 2022 elections, forcing him to intervene.
“After the elections, we started working. However, not long after that, Rigathi Gachagua started having cases with, among others, blogger Dennis Itumbi, Farouk Kibet, and MPs Ndindi Nyoro and Kimani Ichung’wah. I had to ask him, ‘You are a Deputy President; why are you fighting with people holding small roles such as a blogger and a personal assistant?” he posed.
According to Ruto, he advised Gachagua to focus on serving the nation instead of engaging in unnecessary conflicts.
However, he noted that the former Deputy President escalated his confrontations, shifting his focus to MPs.
“I asked him to stop fighting and work for Kenyans, but not long after, he started fighting with Members of Parliament (MPs). He told the MPs that if they don’t ‘kneel’ before him by December, they will all not be elected in the next elections. These MPs are politicians, and after those threats, they decided to go after him and impeach him,” he added.
