Impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua yesterday ignored summons from detectives to shed light on his allegations that President William Ruto and Kenya’s spy agency had plotted to assassinate him.
Gachagua instead drove to the Milimani courthouse in the city to attend a case he had filed to challenge his ouster. The case was heard by a three-judge bench.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said he was free to decide whether or not to heed the summons.
Yesterday, security was heightened at the DCI headquarters as Gachagua was expected to appear there to record a statement.
Gachagua made the assassination claims when he addressed the media after he was discharged from Karen Hospital on Sunday. He said the National Intelligence Service (NIS) had twice, in Kisumu and Nyeri, attempted to poison his food.
On Monday, the DCI invited him to write a statement to substantiate the allegations.
“These are serious allegations emanating from a person of your stature and cannot be taken lightly,” the DCI said.
“In light of the seriousness of this matter, we kindly request your presence on October 22 at the DCI headquarters to formally record your statement to enable prompt and thorough investigations into the matter.”
The DCI added: “We understand the sensitivity of the allegations and assure you that this matter will be handled with the seriousness it deserves. Your statement is a crucial component of our investigation.”
The embattled Gachagua was admitted to Karen Hospital when he fell ill hours before a Senate vote that upheld an earlier vote by the National Assembly to sack him.
He also claimed that President Ruto was hell-bent on harming and crippling him, a claim the DCI said needs to be investigated.
“The President wants to take me down the same path President Daniel Arap Moi took with multiparty crusader Kenneth Matiba. He pushed Matiba to the point of getting a stroke and eventually dying,” he claimed.
He added: “I want to tell the people of Kenya that I do not feel safe. Leave me alone, my brother President William Ruto. I can’t believe you are the man I helped to become President.”
The first alleged positioning attempt, Gachagua claimed, occurred on August 30 in Kisumu, where NIS agents allegedly entered his hotel room.
“I was supposed to be killed through poisoning. They bugged my room, and one of them tried to poison my food, but we detected it and escaped the scheme,” he added.
The second incident that he saw as an attempt on his life occurred on September 30 in Nyeri during a meeting with the Kikuyu Council of Elders.
