Democratic Party (DP) leader Justin Muturi has dismissed President William Ruto’s allegations that former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua colluded with cartels to extort coffee farmers.

Muturi, who served as the Attorney General during the period in question, characterised the president’s recent claims as a political fabrication lacking merit.

Speaking during a morning talk show on a local station on Monday, March 23, 2026, Muturi said that he attended numerous meetings to provide legal and reform advice, during which stakeholders discussed openly about the problems in those sectors.

“It was just yesterday; I saw him (referring to the president) say that Rigathi Gachagua joined cartels in the coffee sector and demanded bribes when he was leading the war against illicit brews. Let me say this because I was the AG then: I attended a number of those meetings to give advice on the legal and other reforms needed; I’m not aware of anybody who went to look for bribes,” Muturi stated.

Evidence of economic sabotage

Muturi further noted that if such serious evidence of economic sabotage existed, it logically should have been a cornerstone of the impeachment proceedings that saw Gachagua removed from office.

The DP leader further argued that if the President, who he said frequently describes himself as a consumer of raw intelligence data, truly had evidence of such corruption.

“If indeed that was so… do you think that that allegation would not have formed part of the impeachment grounds when Rigathi Gachagua was being hauled out of office?” Muturi asked. “It’s highly unlikely. This is an afterthought.”

Political context

The President, on Sunday, March 23, 2026, during a public gathering, intensified his rhetoric against his former deputy, painting Gachagua as a leader who compromised the interests of farmers for personal gain.

“Nilimpatia nafasi nikamwambia anisaidie mambo ya kahawa akaenda akaungana na macartels wa kahawa, eti anauliza wananchi wamlipe shilingi tatu kwa kilo moja, akaenda huko eti anapigana mambo ya pombe, akaenda huko akakuwa extortionist,” Ruto noted.

Loosely translated, “I gave him an opportunity and asked him to help me sort out the coffee sector, but he went and joined the coffee cartels, telling farmers to pay three shillings per kilo. Then he went there claiming to fight issues related to alcohol and ended up becoming an extortionist,” Ruto said.