Gachagua to Ruto allies: You can't boss me around because you're friends with President

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has lashed out at unnamed Cabinet secretaries and senior Kenya Kwanza officials whom the DP accused of undermining him to destabilise the government.

He said the senior officials who are close to President William Ruto are sowing seeds of hatred and propaganda to destabilise him for their own selfish interests.

"The problem now is that those who are friends of the President want to be my bosses.

Is that possible? Even those who are helping the President as personal assistants or bloggers now want to control me. How can they do that? They can't be my bosses," he said.

He was speaking at Kutus Primary School in Kirinyaga County on Saturday during the launch of a scholarship and empowerment programme for orphans.

Senior officials

"You know me. These people cannot be my bosses. I have two bosses: The President and the people who elected us. Whatever the President has asked me to do, I have done. But those who hang around him, I want to tell them: They are not my bosses. Do you want the people around the President to order me around? Surely that cannot be".

Read: Governor Kahiga: Those undermining DP Gachagua will regret it

In a bare-knuckled attack, Mr Gachagua told the senior officials that their efforts to control him and reduce him to nothing would not succeed.

"These government officials are fighting me but they don't know the struggle we went through to get this government," he said.

He defended the Mount Kenya region's unity bid, saying contrary to the impression being created, it was not tribal.

"We voted for President William Ruto and we rejected Raila Odinga who was fronted by one of our own, Uhuru Kenyatta (former President). There was a Kikuyu presidential candidate and we didn't vote for him. Our bid for unity should not be seen as one against the other. We are nationalists," he said.

Rift Valley leaders who accompanied DP Gachagua hit out at some Mount Kenya MPs for driving a wedge between Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and his boss.

"We appreciate the good job Gachagua is doing for this country, he is a good leader, before the election we went through many challenges but Gachagua stood by the country and the President but there are leaders from Mount Kenya region who are fighting him but we will not allow them," said Emurua Dikirr MP, Mr Johana Ng'eno.

Read: You are the cause of your problems, Kiunjuri tells DP Gachagua

He added: "We know that anything that comes between Gachagua and the President will lead to the collapse of the country, the President has confidence in Gachagua and he should stand firm, let us leave out issues that can divide the country.

The leaders praised Mr Gachagua as a hardworking person who has contributed immensely to the growth of the country.

"The Deputy President has done so well in reforming coffee and the sector, he has been at the forefront in the fight against illicit brews and drugs and we should support him," said Nandi Woman Representative Cynthia Muge.

In particular, they took issue with National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wa, accusing him of undermining the DP.

The leaders threatened to have Mr Ichung'wa removed from his seat for his constant attacks on Gachagua.

"The Parliamentary caucus will meet and the first order of business will be to remove Ichung'wa,' said Nandi Senator Samson Cherarkey.

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