Vice President Rigathi Gachagua

Impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Sunday revealed the level to which relations with his boss, President William Ruto, had fallen.

Speaking after leaving Karen Hospital where he was admitted last Thursday, Gachagua sensationally claimed responsibility for plots to assassinate him.

He cited two cases where the state apparatus was triggered to eliminate him.

“On August 30, in Kisumu, undercover security agents entered my room and bugged it. One of them tried to poison my food, but we detected it and were able to escape the scheme. I was supposed to be killed by food poisoning.

Gachagua revealed another attempt in Nyeri, barely a week later. “On September 3, another team from the National Intelligence Service arrived in Nyeri and attempted to poison the food that was intended for me and the Kikuyu council of elders,” he said.

The indictment came after he foiled two attempts on his life. Claiming his life was in danger, he lamented the withdrawal of security officers from his homes in Nairobi and Nyeri, as well as bodyguards.

He accused President Ruto of disobeying court orders, complaining that steps had been taken to cripple his mandate. The vice-president was dismissed by deputies after a historic vote in the Senate, following a motion adopted by the National Assembly.

At least 236 MPs voted to replace him with Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, sparking a dispute over the rightful holder of the post.

As the courts settle the dispute, the PD cries foul, accusing the president of not having been nice enough to him, saying he deserved better for contributing to his victory in the 2022 presidential election.

“It is regrettable that my brother ordered the removal of my security from the hospital. I am here without a single agent…he ordered the withdrawal of security guards from my rural house in Nyeri, my house here in Karen,” Gachagua said.

The officers were disarmed and told not to approach him. “I didn’t know President William Ruto could be so vicious. I am shocked at how a vicious man I helped become president, a man I believed in and was persecuted while supporting, can be so vicious toward me while I am literally fighting for my life in the hospital. How cruel can a man be?

Gachagua argued that under court orders preventing the Senate results from being enforced, he deserved his state rights.

“I know that a judge sitting in Kerugoya and another in Milimani have issued protective orders suspending the work of the Senate. Technically, that means I’m the vice president. As we speak today, the Vice President of the Republic of Kenya does not have a single security around him.

He said reducing its security and sending its officers on leave was intended to cripple its operations. Gachagua further lamented not having official means of transportation.

“Last night, all the vehicles of the agents who work under my orders were seized,” he said. He held no grudge against anyone, but the turn of events had shocked him. “I hadn’t seen that in President Ruto… the man I see is not the man I thought I knew…”

Gachagua further claimed that there were orders to prevent him from using an airport or helicopter to travel to Kwale for the Mashujaa celebration.

“Wilson Airport was told that I should not go through the airport. All private helicopter owners have been informed that I should not be allowed to use any of them to go to Kwale. I don’t understand.”

It is unfortunate that he is being persecuted, but he is the only one who unconditionally supports the president while everyone else insists on written agreements.

“I trusted President Ruto, the people of the area I come from trusted him…No one trusted him and demanded that they sign a memorandum of understanding. I am the only man who trusts him because we are Christians…we used to go to church together,” Gachagua said.

The PD further revealed that his ties with Ruto have been thorny over the past year and the Senate bloodbath was just a high point. His crime was telling the king he was naked, while opposing the Adani deals, forced evictions, tax measures and the housing levy.

He further alleged that the President was persecuting him for venturing into territory that his Cabinet colleagues have softened to.

“I am the only man in the Cabinet who can oppose the president. No one else can scold him.”

For the PD, the 2010 constitution wants an elected vice-president as a buffer against the excesses of the president. Ruto wanted him out of the way “to appoint a puppet they can control”.

Gachagua said he was ready to face the Senate, adding that he had confidence that the judiciary would do him justice in his fight for the second most powerful post.

While disputing how quickly the transition happened, Gachagua said he should have been given an opportunity in the Senate and that the debates had no deadline.

The PD was absent when President Amason Kingi requested to be called to testify and to be cross-examined by National Assembly lawyers.