ODM leader Raila Odinga has taken a swipe at former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, saying he is not a viable alternative to President William Ruto — and would not bring any meaningful change if handed the reins of power.
Speaking at a funeral in Bomet on Saturday, Raila dismissed suggestions that replacing Ruto with Gachagua would improve the country’s fortunes, describing both leaders as cut from the same cloth.
“Even if you make Rigathi Gachagua the next president, there is no big difference he will bring to this country. We need to start afresh,” Raila declared.
The opposition leader said the crisis facing Kenya is deeper than personalities, stressing that real solutions require collective national engagement, not political substitutions or chants of “Ruto Must Go.”
Odinga also warned the youth against allowing violent elements to hijack their protests, saying the push for accountability must remain peaceful and principled.
“We should talk so that we can know where the problem is. Protests and chants of ‘Ruto Must Go’ will not solve the problems,” he said, reiterating his earlier call for a national dialogue to fix the country’s constitutional and governance flaws.
His remarks come in the wake of Gachagua’s own rejection of dialogue, made during his recent visit to the United States. The former DP accused Raila of being an opportunist who always finds his way into government without responsibility.
“Raila is irrelevant in the current political discourse,” Gachagua said. “He wants to be in power without the burden of leadership.”
The public exchange has reignited tensions between Kenya’s key political camps amid rising discontent and a fragile national mood, fueled by youth-led protests and economic hardship.
