Ruto: Gachagua asked for Sh10bn, I refused to be blackmailed
President William Ruto during a joint media engagement at Sagana State Lodge, Nyeri County, on March 31, 2025.
President William Ruto has revealed that his former deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, had demanded Sh10 billion to drum up support for the Head of State in Mt Kenya region.
"I was told ‘I can make you a one-term president unless you give me Sh10 billion to organise politics in the region.’ I refused," President Ruto recounted in a roundtable interview with vernacular stations, coming just hours before his Mt Kenya tour.
He also criticised Mr Gachagua for fighting people within the Kenya Kwanza government in the period leading up to his impeachment.
"After the election, Gachagua became a perennial complaint...accusing everyone, even junior people like Dennis Itumbi, Ndindi Nyoro, Farouk Kibet...all of which were pretty issues. He then started intimidating elected MPs, warning them that they would see fire by December 2024."
However, President Ruto denied being the driving force behind his impeachment.
"I'm not the one who initiated Gachagua's impeachment...process of law was followed," he recounted.
"At first I tried to stop them (MPs) but they told me they would go ahead with or without my blessings. I stopped two planned impeachments, but on the third one, I couldn't stop them, and they proceeded to oust him."
Mr Gachagua took to social media to respond to the interview just moments after it ended.
President Ruto will this week visit Mt Kenya for the first time amid growing political hostility following the impeachment of Mr Gachagua.
He last visited the region in August 2024, just before his deputy was ousted in October. The impeachment was a culmination of the duo’s bitter political divorce that has since triggered major political realignments, including a formal political deal between President Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga.
President William Ruto during a joint media engagement at Sagana State Lodge, Nyeri County, on March 31, 2025.
The five-day tour of the region also came barely days after the President fired Justin Muturi as Public Service Cabinet Secretary over his sustained criticism of the Kenya Kwanza administration, especially over claims of state-instigated abductions of perceived government critics.
In tonight's interview, he defended the move on the grounds that Mr Muturi boycotted Cabinet meetings.
"Am I the one who sacked him or is he the one who refused to work?" He posed.
He added: "I am a person who believes in giving people a second chance. That is why I gave Muturi a second chance.
I also gave Gachagua a second chance."