Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua hit back at President Ruto, accusing the government of orchestrating a campaign of economic sabotage and political persecution against the Mt Kenya community. 

Speaking on Sunday, June 29, 2025, from the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) Diocese in Nyahururu, Gachagua was accompanied by leaders from Nyandarua and Laikipia counties during a fundraising event to finish the church.  

His statement came amid growing political tensions following the nationwide protests on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, during which violent confrontations between demonstrators and police left several people dead and property destroyed.  

“What we saw on Wednesday is not just any protest; it was a targeted war against our people. Shops looted at night were marked in green, and all were owned by Mt Kenya people. And under police supervision,” Gachagua alleged. 

He dismissed reports that protesters burned police stations in Kikuyu areas, stating that these are lies designed to justify a state crackdown and frame local leaders.  

“How can someone without a gun burn a police station and leave unharmed while armed police watch? These are false narratives to harass our children and leaders,” he said. 

The former Deputy President claimed a secret meeting was held at State House involving senior police officers allegedly tasked with intimidating Mt Kenya leaders.  

Moi-era tactics 

Gachagua said the government’s claims about an attempted coup are also an attempt to target opposition leaders and people from the Kikuyu community.

He compared the current crackdown as similar to the 1982 coup attempt, where members of the Kikuyu community were allegedly targeted after President Moi faced a challenge to his rule.  

“For 24 years, we were beaten by Moi just like right now, that our properties are burnt down while the police supervise,” Gachagua said.  

Gachagua also spoke of building political alliances beyond Mt Kenya.  

“I was in Kambaland seeking our cousins, and they are with us. This Monday, I will be in Narok seeking our in-laws. I will not let our house be isolated, we’ll be beaten if we remain alone, he said. 

He emphasised unity, emphasising that it is the only way the region could retain its political and economic influence. Gachagua criticised recent government food aid programmes in Nyandarua and Laikipia counties, terming them degrading.  

“It is better to sleep hungry than to line up for cowpeas that don’t cook. Our community is hardworking. This embarrassment must stop,” he added. 

Gachagua’s sentiments came as it emerged that the Gen Z demos on Wednesday last week left a trail of destruction in several towns, with traders counting huge losses. Nairobi, Nyeri, Kiambu, Nakuru and Nyandarua are some of the areas the businesses were looted. 

Despite the demos being held in 25 counties, massive destruction of property in the Central region has turned into a debate, with the political leaders pointing fingers at each other. 

Top government officials accused Rigathi Gachagua of engineering the skirmishes in the area in what they claimed was a political move to fight back the government. 

They claimed that Gachagua was taking advantage of the demos to advance his agenda of ‘taking over the government’. 

Moses Kuria, former CS and a senior adviser to the president, said the scale of destruction of property in the area is an indication of the country’s long-standing political trajectory. Kuria said the region paid disproportionately during the demos, adding that this was a well-calculated and destructive move. 

The Leader of Majority in the National Assembly, Kimani Ichung’wah, also claimed his businesses and parents were a major target during the demos, accusing the former DP of being behind the move. 

“The people who did this are not from Kikuyu, but they had been ferried from other areas to come and cause chaos,” he said. 

Gachagua, however, sought to distance himself from the claims that he funded the goons to infiltrate the demos. He said if the government had any information about the plan, it should have taken the necessary measures to stop it. 

“If those goons were sent by me, things would have been different but none of them was touched because they were State-sponsored,” he remarked. 

Scapegoat 

The former DP claimed he has intelligence that all the businesses belonging to people from a certain community were targeted after they had earlier been identified by government officers, adding that this was a political statement. 

“The government wants to coerce people from the Central region to support it,” he added. 

Gachagua’s allies also sought to defend him, saying the government is trying to use him as a scapegoat for its ill actions. Jamleck Kamau, a political leader from Murang’a, said Gachagua is not a government officer, and so they should stop implicating him in the matter. 

“The government is playing politics and diversionary tactics by trying to implicate opposition in the skirmishes because it doesn’t want to own up to the mess it has caused,” read part of his statement on social media. 

“Gachagua is no longer a government officer, and dragging him into this mess is laughable. You made your bed, now you must sleep on it,” he added. 

Wednesday’s protests were to commemorate the youths who were killed in June 2024, during the anti-government protests to oppose the Finance Bill. 

According to human rights organisations, about 15 people were killed and hundreds injured during the demos across the country last week.