In a televised address yesterday, Mr Gachagua, who served as Dr Ruto’s deputy until his impeachment on October 17, 2024, presented a 39-page assessment of the Kenya Kwanza administration’s record on the cost of living, taxation, debt, healthcare, education, agriculture, security, land and housing, declaring: “The plan has failed. It is hollow and deceptive!”
Mr Gachagua said Kenyans had voted for the administration’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda expecting improved livelihoods, but accused it of shifting focus to initiatives including the National Dialogue Committee process, the Ten-Point Agenda and a long-term development plan beyond Vision 2030.
The economy and cost of living formed the centrepiece of his criticism. He said higher taxes, statutory deductions and rising prices had eroded household purchasing power. He cited fuel prices, saying Super Petrol had risen from Sh159.12 a litre in August 2022 to Sh214.03, while diesel increased from Sh140 to Sh222.86.
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics data showed consumer inflation rose to 6.5 per cent in July, with the statement attributing the increase largely to transport costs. It also cited the Middle East conflict and domestic fuel prices.
On public debt, Mr Gachagua said Kenya’s debt had risen from Sh8.66 trillion in August 2022 to Sh13.02 trillion, an increase of more than Sh4 trillion. He questioned whether the borrowing had generated corresponding development, citing spending on State House, State lodges and airstrips while counties faced delays in receiving equitable share funds.
Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) Party Leader Rigathi Gachagua makes his address during a media briefing at the parties offices on August 11, 2026.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation
He said delayed transfers had contributed to county cash-flow problems, salary delays and rising pending bills. National Treasury data, however, put county pending bills at Sh183 billion in June 2025, above the Sh156 billion cited in his statement.
Healthcare was another major target. Mr Gachagua accused the administration of falling short of its universal health coverage promise and criticised the replacement of the National Hospital Insurance Fund with the Social Health Authority (SHA).
He questioned the discontinuation of Linda Mama and Edu Afya , saying the changes had created coverage gaps and shifted costs to families. His statement said Edu Afya covered 3.4 million secondary school students in 2022 at an annual cost of about Sh3.2 billion, leaving about 4.1 million without the cover.
CEO of the Digital Health Agency Anthony Lenaiyara.
Photo credit: File| Nation Media Group
Digital Health Authority chief executive Anthony Lenaiyara also disputed claims that the SHA system costs Sh104 billion. He said the figure covered 43 digital health systems, a sovereign health cloud with three data centres, the digital superhighway and the Afya Yangu virtual file, with only two of the systems being SHA platforms.
“The SHA system pays only Sh25 for any Kenyan covered under SHA, for a year,” he said.
Education also featured prominently in the former deputy president’s assessment. Mr Gachagua said the administration had reversed gains under Free Primary Education and Free Day Secondary Education by increasing the financial burden on families. He said government capitation had failed to keep pace with inflation and rising operational costs.
His statement compared the Sh22,000 annual capitation rate established in 2017 with about Sh9,000 received per student in the previous financial year, creating what he described as a significant funding gap.
He also cited rising university debt and uncertainty following changes to the university financing model.
“We have had two university financing models in two years,” he said, arguing that the changes had increased pressure on families and created uncertainty for students and institutions.
Agriculture, a major component of Dr Ruto’s 2022 campaign, also came under criticism.
Mr Gachagua said the government had promised to invest Sh250 billion in agriculture, move the country from food deficit to surplus production, raise farmers’ incomes and revitalise key value chains. Instead, he said farmers faced higher input, taxation, transport and distribution costs.
He said agriculture continued to receive about two per cent of the national budget, below the 10 per cent target under the African Union’s Maputo Declaration. He cited the tea, rice and sugar sectors as examples of policy failures.
On security, human rights and the rule of law, Mr Gachagua accused the administration of presiding over what he called a “total breakdown of law and order”.
He alleged that groups he described as goons had operated alongside police and accused the government of failing to account for alleged extrajudicial killings and abductions . He cited alleged abductions and killings, deaths during the Gen Z protests and other unresolved cases, calling for greater accountability.
He also criticised the administration’s land and housing record, accusing it of failing to resolve historical land injustices and alleging irregular acquisition and misuse of public land.
On the Affordable Housing Programme, he argued that the initiative had departed from its original promise of turning the housing shortage into an economic opportunity. At the heart of his statement was a broader political argument that the administration had weakened institutions meant to check presidential power.
Mr Gachagua accused President Ruto of centralising control over constitutional commissions and State agencies, undermining Parliament’s oversight role and weakening institutions including the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) and the Office of the Auditor-General. The statement was presented as an accountability review rather than a policy alternative, using the administration’s campaign commitments as the benchmark. Mr Gachagua contrasted promises made before the 2022 election with what he said Kenyans were experiencing four years into the administration.
He also criticised policy reversals, saying frequent changes had made it difficult for households, farmers, students and businesses to plan. He said the cumulative effect of taxes, higher costs and changes to public programmes had disproportionately burdened ordinary citizens.
His intervention comes as political parties and potential presidential candidates shape their messages ahead of the 2027 election. By presenting his criticism sector by sector, Mr Gachagua sought to shift the debate from personalities to measurable government performance. He said the document would give Kenyans a basis for judging the administration’s record and whether its commitments had been met. The document is likely to form part of the opposition’s case against the administration as parties position themselves for the 2027 election.
Mr Gachagua’s assessment, however, largely reflects his political interpretation of the government’s record, with several allegations and conclusions requiring independent verification or responses from the institutions and officials concerned.
