Gachagua: Raila must recognize Ruto as President before any engagement
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua greets congregants outside Ngorano PCEA Church in Nyeri County after attending a service on April 9, 2023. He urged opposition leader Raila Odinga to publicly acknowledge William Ruto's presidency as a condition for possible engagement.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has told Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition leader Raila Odinga to publicly recognize William Ruto as Kenya's President, a condition he wants to be fulfilled before an engagement takes place between the two parties.
Mr Gachagua said Mr Odinga must publicly recognize Dr Ruto's legitimacy as the Head of State before clear terms of engagement are set.
"Before we can even agree to talk to him (Odinga), he must first acknowledge in public that President William Ruto is the President of Kenya. The issue of us coming into a discussion does not even arise because he says he does not recognize William Ruto as President. So, how do you talk to somebody who does not recognize your legitimacy?" Mr Gachagua said.
The DP spoke at Ngorano Central PCEA in Mathira constituency, Nyeri County, where he had attended a Sunday service.
"We cannot talk to Raila. Who is he in Kenya? On what grounds? He is just an ordinary citizen. But if he has his own personal issues, let him come and we listen to him. But we cannot have an engagement with Raila Odinga because who is he in Kenya? He is not elected by anybody," he said.
Mr Gachagua reiterated that they will not enter into a handshake with the Opposition leader, saying that it would plunge the country into further crisis.
He blamed the handshake entered between former President Uhuru Kenyatta and Mr Odinga as the reason behind the high cost of living and financial crisis the country is currently grappling with.
Mr Gachagua faulted Mr Uhuru's regime of burdening the country with huge debts that are currently derailing the operations of President Ruto's administration.
"It is true we are having challenges in paying salaries and allocating money to counties because the handshake government ruined this economy. They borrowed money left, right and center and because we are a responsible government, we have to pay that money. Ruto cannot run away from those debts although he did not incur them," Mr Gachagua said.
Also Read: Take it or leave it, Ruto tells Raila
"We are in a difficult situation. What we had collected in the last two weeks was sufficient to pay the loans we paid. What we will collect this week will be used to pay the salaries and other requirements," he added.
Protests
He said that the Azimio leader had sent emissaries to Dr Ruto saying that they wanted to call off the protests.
“He (Odinga) sent emissaries to the President and said they had come to an end and the international community had abandoned them. They said they wanted to call off the demonstrations and wanted an exit strategy. The President told them to go to Parliament and discuss,” said Mr Gachagua.
“The President called me that Sunday and told me what they had told him and I said, fine. We told him to tell his elected MPs to talk to ours. Parliamentarians will tell us what he has told them. We do not have that time because we are busy building the economy," he added.
