Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Friday, September 20 claimed he was left in the cold in terms of knowledge of President William Ruto’s engagements, despite being his senior-most assistant.....CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
Speaking during an explosive interview withCitizen TV’s Sam Gituku, Gachagua alleged that he was unaware of matters regarding the Executive, including his upcoming trip to the United States (US) to participate in the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
On several occasions, Gachagua has been present in terms of seeing off President Ruto during his international trips and upon return to the country, but this was one of the scenarios whereby he was getting wind of information regarding his senior from third-party sources.
Here is an excerpt from the interview:
Gituku:
We understand the President is leaving the country tonight, are you aware?
DP Gachagua:
I am told he is leaving the country but I am not aware of the time, so I have not been informed as of this evening.
Gituku:
Has he briefed you?
DP Gachagua:
No, I have not talked to him today. He’ll talk to me in his own time.
Gituku:
But he is leaving…you’re his senior-most assistant and you do not know?
Gachagua also alleged being kept in the dark in terms of matters involving his government, including the proposed deal by the government with Indian conglomerate Adani Group to lease the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi for three decades.
I am not privy to the arrangement because it is not in my docket, I have not been assigned to deal with it, so it has not come to my attention officially.
“I do not have the details, I’ll not be able to say what the details are; is it a good deal for the country, or is it a bad deal? If those details are put before, I’ll be able to apply my mind and give an opinion, but as it is, I am just hearing them like the rest of you,” Gachagua remarked, though promising to follow up with the Ministry of Transport on the matter.
His remarks saw him paint a picture of a purported row between him and President Ruto to the point the former lamented missing out on key national events and engagements attended by Ruto and State House officers.
Gachagua even disclosed that he and his team were removed from the WhatsApp group where the President’s itinerary is shared, presumably to exclude them from State affairs.
“About a week ago, we were removed from that diary so we were not able to follow what was going on and so we cannot align. When I am aware of where the President is, I am always there.
When I am not aware, there is nothing I can do about it,” said Gachagua, pinpointing Ruto’s private secretary Reuben Miayo who expelled him from the group and, thus cannot even attend functions of the head of State.
“It is a WhatsApp Group and it’s updated as we go on and we keep on aligning. I was removed, my private secretary and Chief of Staff was removed and so we have no access to the diary.”
The seemingly devastated DP cried foul of the move by the President’s close allies, terming it “mischievous” and aimed at discrediting his service as the deputy president in order to presumably justify bringing an impeachment motion against him.
Gachagua argued that the removal was an easier means of ensuring that he fails to attend State functions or appear to the President’s meetings late so that he would be labelled as disrespectful or absconding duties.
“There is mischief to remove me from the Presidential diary so that once I do not attend Presidential events, it can be purported that I am absconding duty. I hear that was one of the grounds for impeachment. Sometimes they want me to appear late so that it can appear I am disrespectful,” he said.
DP Gachagua appealed to his boss and the people responsible to include his team in the President’s diary, underscoring his position as the second-in-command so that he fulfils his mandate to the people…CLICK HERE FOR MORE ARTICLE>>>
