Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has claimed President William Ruto is deliberately undermining Deputy President Kithure Kindiki in a bid to force him out of office, drawing parallels with the events that preceded his own impeachment in 2024.
Speaking during a televised interview on Sunday evening, Mr Gachagua alleged that Dr Kindiki was being isolated and publicly undermined as part of a calculated political strategy orchestrated by the President.
"Huyu mtoto wetu wa Tharaka anaumia. Najua anachopitia kwa sababu nilipitia. Mimi nilikuwa kichwa ngumu, hakuna mtu angenitukana. Hata hii Junet wanaongea, ni Ruto amewaambia. Ruto ndiye anatesa Kindiki, Ruto amewaambia mpaka Kindiki akasirike ajiondoe," Mr Gachagua said.
He claimed that leaders allied to President Ruto, including National Assembly Minority Leader Junet Mohamed, had been instructed to publicly attack Dr Kindiki in an effort to frustrate him into resigning.
The former Deputy President further alleged that although Dr Kindiki now occupies the office he once held, he has been stripped of meaningful authority within government.
"Kindiki took my seat which he doesn't even use. In court, I said I don't need that seat. The way they were threatening Ruto's junior staff. You see how Junet is talking. These ODM people have been silenced because they were given money by Ruto, they don't see Kindiki as a person," he said.
Mr Gachagua insisted his opposition to President Ruto was not directed at the Deputy President but at what he described as the President's style of leadership.
"Tunapinga Ruto kwa sababu ya tabia zake za kuuwa Gen Z, kwa sababu ya tabia yake ya uwizi na udanganyifu. Hapingwi kwa sababu ako na Kindiki. Kindiki mwenyewe analia. Leo Junet amesema kutakuwa na muungano wa ODM na UDA. UDA itachukua President Ruto na hao watachukua DP Oparanya na saa hiyo Kindiki ako kwa kiti. Wameanza kumkosea heshima vile walikuwa wananikosea," he said.
His remarks came hours after Mr Junet hinted at an ODM-UDA political arrangement ahead of the 2027 General Election, suggesting that if President Ruto retained the presidency, ODM would seek the deputy president's position.
Addressing a political rally in Malava, Kakamega County, Mr Junet said the Orange party was positioning itself to form the next government with President Ruto and proposed Co-operatives Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya as a potential deputy president.
"Tumefanya nini? Sisi tunaenda kuungana na kutengeneza serikali ya 2027 na President William Samoei Ruto. Na UDA wakipata President, nani anapata Deputy? ODM wanataka nini? ODM watadai wapate Deputy President," Mr Junet said.
Mr Gachagua interpreted the remarks as evidence that Dr Kindiki's position was under threat, arguing that he was already being sidelined despite having served as Deputy President for less than two years.
He also cautioned Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku against placing too much trust in President Ruto, claiming several of the President's former allies had eventually fallen out with him.
"I've told Ruku to read with me. Ruto is a person who uses people. Let him read with Linturi, let him read with Justin Muturi. All those people were his people, he has turned against us. Even he will come to turn against him. He turned against me over the words about shares. Tell Ruku, you can't divide this mountain. Trying to divide this mountain is like cutting down mugumo trees with a razor," he said.
Dr Kindiki was appointed Deputy President following Mr Gachagua's impeachment in October 2024 after Parliament upheld charges accusing him of violating the Constitution and abusing his office. Since then, Mr Gachagua has emerged as one of President Ruto's fiercest critics, accusing him of betrayal and consolidating support through the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP).
Neither State House nor the Office of the Deputy President had responded to Mr Gachagua's claims by Sunday evening.
