Deputy President William Ruto’s running mate, Rigathi Gachagua, has reacted to President Uhuru Kenyatta’s assertions that he never opposed corruption because he was weak.
In an effort to garner support for Raila Odinga’s 2022 presidential campaign, Uhuru claimed that Baba and his running mate, Martha Karua, are not as lenient as he is and that if they were elected, they would imprison thieves and dishonest politicians.
Uhuru stated unequivocally that the Raila-Karua ticket will not be as tolerant as he has been in the fight against corruption.
But speaking during a Kenya Kwanza Alliance political rally yesterday, Gachagua dismissed Uhuru’s claims that he could not fight corruption because he was forgiving.
Instead, Gachagua said the first in command could not fight corruption because his family members and close friends were the beneficiaries of corruption in his administration.
“Nimeona rais Uhuru Kenyatta akisema ati hakupigana na ufisadi kwa sababu alionea wafisadi huruma, hiyo ni uongo… wewe ulikataa kupigana na ufisadi kwa sababu wafisadi Kenya ni watu wa familia yako (I heard President Uhuru Kenyatta say that he did not fight corruption because he felt sorry for the corrupt, that is a lie… you refused to fight corruption because the corrupt Kenyans are members of your family,” Gachagua said.
Gachagua said President Uhuru’s sister Nyokabi Kenyatta was a suspect in the Afya House scandal, a factor that hindered Uhuru from taking serious actions against the perpetrators.
In 2016, it was widely reported that President Uhuru’s sister and cousin owned businesses that were allegedly involved in the KSh 5.3 billion Afya House scandal, in which millions were allegedly improperly pocketed by the owners.
Sister of Uhuru Nyokabi Kenyatta Muthama and cousin Kathleen Kihanya serve as directors of a business that received suspicious payments totaling KSh 41 million.
The outspoken Mathira MP also accused the president of protecting some of his pals, including David Murathe, vice chairman of the Jubilee Party, who he claimed was responsible for the theft of funds intended to help deal with the impacts of COVID-19 in 2020–2021.
