Protests expose Gachagua, Ruto widening rift
The widening rift between President William Ruto and his Deputy Rigathi Gachagua was brought to the fore on Wednesday when both held separate addresses to the nation in venues almost 500km apart after deadly anti-finance bill demonstrations that erupted on Tuesday.
As Ruto marshalled Kenya Kwanza legislators in State House Nairobi to announce that he would not assent to the controversial Finance bill Gachagua emerged as a lone ranger in the Mombasa’s official residence of the Deputy President.
Gachagua and defiant Kenya Kwanza MPs who voted against the bill were absent in the State House on Wednesday, further pointing to a crumbling coalition.
Their speeches were equally differing. While Ruto dropped his hard-line stance over the bill which he had vowed to sign, Gachagua opted for a different message, blaming National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director General Noordin Haji for Tuesday’s mayhem.
Given that both Ruto and Gachagua were in the country, it would have been imperative that they hold a joint address flanked by the legislators allied to the ruling coalition, especially at a critical time when the country was witnessing bloodshed.
Last week, the duo was joined by the ruling coalition MPs at State House as the National Assembly Finance Committee chairman Kimani Kuria and the Majority Leader Kimani Ichungw’a announced the decision to drop some tax measures spelt out in the contentious bill.
Gachagua was conspicuously absent from Ruto’s addresses to the nation on Tuesday night and Wednesday.
In Mombasa, the DP pronounced himself for the first time over the situation that paints the country in bad light.
Trained guns
While the President majorly delved into the nitty gritty of why he had conceded to the demands of the fiercely protesting Gen Z who had demanded he rejects the bill in totality, Gachagua trained his guns on Haji who he accused of laxity in informing the President on the growing hostility towards the bill.
Gachagua called on Haji to resign and to bear personal responsibility for the loss of lives and property incurred by the country on Tuesday.
Additionally, Gachagua criticised the Spymaster for plotting to tarnish the names of some leaders by implicating them as masterminds of the demonstrations including himself.
Ruto who was in the company of Kenya Kwanza MPs who had voted to pass the bill and Governors Anne Waiguru and Cecil Mbarire said, “Having reflected on the continued conversation on the Finance Bill 2024, having listened to Kenyans, I concede. The bill has been withdrawn,”
Shot dead
He added: “I also propose that within the next 14 days, multi-sectoral, multi stakeholder engagement be held with a view to charting the way forward on matters relating to the content of the bill as well as auxiliary issues raised in the recent days on the need for austerity measures and strengthening our fight against corruption.”
After a bloody Tuesday where protestors were shot dead outside Parliament and other parts of the country, a visibly angry Ruto appeared on televised address scoffing at the protestors and hailing the police for putting the situation under control.
Terming the day’s turn of events as treasonous, President Ruto put on notice the planners, financiers, and orchestrators adding that the security infrastructure established to protect our republic and its sovereignty will be deployed to secure the country and restore normalcy.
“It is not in order or even conceivable that criminals pretending to be peaceful protesters can reign terror against the people, their elected representatives and the institutions established under our constitution and expect to go scot-free. We must isolate crime from democratic expression and separate criminals from people exercising the freedom of expression and divergent opinion,” he said.
