Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has dismissed claims that he is a tribal leader, instead accusing President William Ruto of pushing a negative narrative against him following their political fallout.
Speaking during an exclusive interview on Citizen TV’s The Explainer Show on Tuesday night, Gachagua claimed that Ruto and his close allies have deliberately branded him a tribalist to undermine his political influence.
“Narratives are created in this country and my former boss, William Ruto, is a master of narratives; he is very good. When we were friends, he said so many nice things about me — a great mobiliser, a people’s man, a strategist. But the minute we fell out, he labelled me as a tribalist. He has been preaching it in every meeting to justify why, after I helped make him President, he hounded me out of office,” Gachagua said.
The former DP, who was impeached last year, defended his record, insisting that his political decisions have never been guided by tribal considerations.
“The man before you is a great nationalist who loves Kenya, who has never uttered something negative about another community. He loves his community, yes, but that does not mean he hates other communities,” he said.
Citing the 2022 General Election, Gachagua said his support for Ruto proved he was not tribal.
“Against all odds, when Uhuru Kenyatta wanted me to support Raila Odinga — and he is my kinsman — had I been tribal, I would have listened to Uhuru. But I went ahead to support Ruto, a Kalenjin. My community gave him 87% of the vote. The other 13% went to Raila, a Luo. That tells you we are not tribal. William Ruto and his community, how many votes did they give Raila? None. All their votes went to their kinsman,” Gachagua argued.
The outspoken leader further challenged the President and his allies to provide evidence of him making derogatory remarks against other ethnic groups.
“I would like to challenge William Ruto and his cronies to produce a single video of me making negative remarks against another tribe,” he stated.