Former President Uhuru Kenyatta and then Deputy President William Ruto (left), impeached DP Rigathi Gachagua and President Ruto.
The ghost of politics of assassination and harassment to settle scores has once again reared its ugly head with impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua being the latest senior leader to pull the card after a bitter fallout with his boss.
Kenya's political scene has recently witnessed explosive allegations of the use of Executive power by sitting presidents to harass and intimidate rivals, with the accusations coming full circle after Mr Gachagua's latest outburst.
Similar allegations have previously surfaced between 2022 and 2024, with outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta, President William Ruto and Mr Gachagua being lead actors in the play.
President Ruto, then Deputy President, was the first high-profile leader to accuse his boss, Mr Kenyatta, of trying to harm his family and himself at the height of their nasty political spat ahead of the 2022 elections.
But when the tables turned and Dr Ruto assumed the presidency, it was Mr Kenyatta’s turn to call on his successor to stay away from his children and instead go after him directly if he wanted to settle political scores.
Having been in the same camp since 2017, DP Gachagua has now adopted the same playbook as his boss. On Sunday he sensationally claimed that there had been two attempts to assassinate him through food poisoning, they were all thwarted, he claimed.
Much like the card Dr Ruto played on Mr Kenyatta, he laid the blame squarely at the government's door, claiming that the attempts in late August and early September this year were carried out by people he believes are agents of the National Intelligence Service (NIS).
Speaking publicly for the first time since he fell ill and was rushed to hospital last Thursday, the former Mathira MP cited two instances where he claimed the State machinery was unleashed to eliminate him.
Poison his food
He said that on August 30, in Kisumu, undercover security agents entered his room and bugged it, with one of them trying to poison his food.
"We discovered it and were able to escape the plot. I was supposed to be killed by food poisoning," said Mr Gachagua.
He went on to say that barely a week later, another attempt was made in Nyeri.
"On September 3, 2024, another team from the National Intelligence Service came to Nyeri and tried to poison food meant for me and the Kikuyu Council of Elders," he said.
The 59-year-old said he now believes these failed assassination attempts paved the way for his impeachment.
Painting President Ruto as a traitor and a vicious man capable of the worst, he also revealed that his security had been withdrawn and officers in his office had been sent on forced leave, while he was also left without official transport.
But shortly after his security was withdrawn, he claimed that some agents, whom he believes are from the NIS, were sent to look for him and were "hovering around the hospital premises (where he was admitted) and all the rooms".
"It is unfortunate that my brother has ordered the withdrawal of my security from the hospital. I have been here without a single officer... he has ordered the withdrawal of security from my rural home in Nyeri and my home here in Karen," Mr Gachagua said.
"I did not know that President William Ruto could be so vicious. I am shocked that a man I helped become President, a man I believed in and was persecuted for supporting, could be so vicious to me when I am literally fighting for my life in hospital. How cruel can one man be?" He asked.
Cripple operations
Mr Gachagua said that reducing his security and sending his officers on leave was meant to cripple his operations.
The DP's wild lamentations and accusations follow a similar script of his predecessor (Dr Ruto), who also made similar statements at the height of the war of words with Mr Kenyatta.
In July 2022, Dr Ruto accused the former president of using threats and intimidation following their bitter fallout when Mr Kenyatta decided to endorse Azimio leader Raila Odinga for the August 2022 presidential contest.
In a public outburst, he pleaded with his boss to stop issuing threats and leave his people alone, claiming that a plot was being hatched to harm him along with his family and allies.
Dr Ruto, a former Eldoret North MP, alleged that Mr Kenyatta had held a private meeting in which he threatened him and his allies, but asked him not to direct his anger at his children.
"I’d like to ask the President to stop intimidating people. Your job is to ensure there is peace in the country. Stop telling us we will know that you are the President. Stop terrorising us, we cannot be threatened," Dr Ruto said.
Respect each other
"As long as you don't kill my children, I will face you but please let us respect each other," he protested, accusing his boss of being a traitor.
The public flare-up came a week after Mr Kenyatta branded his deputy a liar and politically immature to replace him, urging voters to back Mr Odinga.
But Dr Ruto reminded the President of how he stood by him in his hour of need when he was seeking votes to win his two terms and told him to stop invoking his name in public attacks.
"Mr President, stop talking about me. Talk about your candidate. I supported you when you needed a man to support you. If you don't want to support me, leave me alone," Dr Ruto said.
"I want to tell the President that even after all the things you have done to me, I will not take revenge because I am a Christian. I will make sure that you retire in peace and let me run the country because I know what I am doing," he added.
But Mr Kenyatta hit back, saying he had been president for five years and had never harmed anyone despite the many attacks he had been subjected to.
He said he had the power to do anything during that time but did not because he had no ill will towards anyone.
"There is no need to lie. Haven't you insulted me for three years? Haven't I been the holder of this office for those three years? I had the power to do so. Now that I am preparing to hand over and have limited powers, do you think I have time to look for you?" He asked.
But exactly a year later, the former leader spoke out against what he called acts of harassment and intimidation, accusing his successor, Dr Ruto, of hounding his family.
Speaking at his son Jomo Muigai's home in Karen in July, Mr Kenyatta asked the government to stop harassing his family and instead deal with him directly.
"They should tell me what they want with my children. They have taken away their security and now I hear they want to take away their personal weapons. Is that because they are planning something?" Asked Mr Kenyatta.
"If they are planning something, my only plea is don't plan against my mother or my children, plan for me if it is me you want. Leave them alone.
"People who have been guarding my mother for almost 50 years have withdrawn at night. Now I have a situation where my son's house is being searched at night. What does this government want?" He asked.
