Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has vehemently denied claims linking him to the recent nationwide protests, calling the allegations false, baseless, and politically motivated. In a televised interview, Gachagua dismissed suggestions that he financed demonstrators or had any involvement in the unrest that rocked the country.
“If these were my goons, I want to tell you today, they would have been shot or be in custody,” Gachagua said, asserting that the state would never have hesitated to act had he been behind the demonstrations. He questioned the government’s inaction if indeed there was credible intelligence tying him to the events, adding, “Why didn’t they arrest these goons?”
The protests, largely led by Gen Z activists, have drawn both national and international attention due to their intensity and the state’s response. Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen claimed the organisers attempted to orchestrate a coup by targeting institutions like Parliament and State House. “The plan was to take symbols of authority and democracy… to show they had achieved regime change,” Murkomen stated.
Gachagua, however, dismissed the coup narrative, questioning the logic behind blaming unarmed civilians for such a serious allegation. “How do you say they were goons paid by someone, yet they managed to storm and take over a police station? If there was such intelligence, why didn’t they act on it?” he asked, directly criticizing Murkomen and accusing him of misleading the public.
He further challenged the state’s handling of the protests, questioning why looters and alleged instigators were not arrested if evidence truly existed. “They should be arrested to help in investigations,” he said.
President William Ruto, meanwhile, has strongly condemned the chaos, describing it as “anarchy dressed in freedom colours” and vowed that those responsible would face justice. “The perpetrators must be identified, unmasked, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Ruto said, while warning political actors against inciting violence.
As tensions simmer, Gachagua’s remarks have added a new dimension to the unfolding national debate over freedom of assembly, governance, and state accountability.
