Ichung’wah: Budget row behind fallout with Gachagua
By Emmanuel Rono, April 13, 2026National Assembly Majority leader, Kimani Ichung’wah, has detailed a high-stakes confrontation at the former Deputy President’s official residence in Karen, identifying a Ksh 1 billion budget demand as the catalyst for his fallout with former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
Speaking during an interview with a local station on Monday, April 13, 2026, Ichung’wah stated that the rift began when Gachagua attempted to blackmail the President and threaten Members of Parliament from the Mt. Kenya region to support his personal and political agenda.
Ichung’wah claims he personally confronted Gachagua at his residence, warning him that he would be the last person to be intimidated or blackmailed.
“When he was deputy president, when he tried to blackmail the president and threaten all members of parliament, I went to his house in Karen, and I told him, Mr. Deputy President, you know me, you know Uhuru Kenyatta as president could not intimidate me or blackmail me to support his cause,” Ichung’wah said.
He added, “You are the deputy president today, you found me as an elected member of parliament when you came into parliament in 2017. If you intimidate all these people, all these members of parliament from Mount Kenya, look at me straight in my eyes and know I will be the last person you will intimidate. I will be the last person you’ll be able to blackmail.”
Increase in budget
He noted that the former Deputy President reportedly intended to secure these funds under Article 223 of the Constitution, which allows for supplementary spending.
However, Ichung’wah, who previously chaired the Budget and Appropriations Committee, says he flatly refused the request.
“ I remember that time he had called me to Karen when I went to see him to will try and persuade me that he could get access to additional confidential expenditure to hit a billion shillings of confidential expenditure from the Ksh 700 million that he had in his office,” Ichung’wah said.
“Apparently, to get it under article 223 of the constitution, and I told him I was the author of an embargo on such expenditure under article 223 when I was the chair of the budget and appropriations committee, as the leader of the majority, I will not allow it in parliament because it is wrong.”
The Majority leader stated that despite Gachagua’s attempts to use political “numbers” to influence parliamentary decisions, he refused to allow the abuse of office for what he deemed improper financial gains.
“I told him, our numbers are not to abuse to do what is not right,” Ichung’wah recalled.