Gachagua to Ruto: Your 2027 opponents are Kenyans, not Uhuru

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has dismissed President William Ruto’s suggestion that retired President Uhuru Kenyatta could be behind the opposition to his administration ahead of the 2027 General Election.

Gachagua said Ruto’s real opponents in the next presidential contest would be Kenyans seeking to remove him from office, arguing that Uhuru was no longer the political force the President should be focusing on.

The former Deputy President was responding to Ruto’s recent remarks that Uhuru was not able to stop him from winning the 2022 elections while he was Head of State.

Gachagua, however, said Ruto won the election because Uhuru had not convinced enough Kenyans that he was unfit to lead the country.

“I have heard you brag that retired President Uhuru Kenyatta did not defeat you when he was President and that can't defeat you now that he is retired,” Gachagua said.

“Put logically, you were elected President despite President Uhuru Kenyatta having been against you. It is because President Uhuru Kenyatta did not sufficiently convince me about you.”

Gachagua said Ruto’s record since taking office had, in his view, changed the political equation and made Uhuru’s role unnecessary in persuading Kenyans to vote against the President.

“Today, you have proven to me and the whole country that President Uhuru was right,” he said.

“President Uhuru Kenyatta is not your opponent in this election. You are just trying a deflection. Your opponents are the people of Kenya.”

He claimed that the President’s political opponents were already acting on the instructions of Kenyans seeking a change of government.

“55 million Kenyans are your opponents. These are your real opponents, and you should not confuse them with the shadow of President Uhuru Kenyatta,” Gachagua said.

Gachagua also cited the recent Ol Kalou by-election as an indication of what he expects in 2027, saying the result should serve as a warning to the Kenya Kwanza administration.

“Ol Kalou was just a dress rehearsal for the forthcoming General Election,” he said, adding that voters would not be swayed by money or inducements.

The former deputy president further claimed that opposition leaders were working towards identifying a single presidential candidate to face Ruto in 2027.

“The decision to vote you out is settled, and only one matter is outstanding to complete the picture: the identification of a single presidential candidate to take you home,” he said.

He said consultations were ongoing and that the opposition would soon announce its preferred candidate.

“I want to assure you that this is a piece of work in progress, and very soon we shall let you know the man or woman to whom you shall hand over,” Gachagua said.