President William Ruto has clapped back at former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua after the latter criticised the current regime for the heavy tax burden on salaried Kenyans.
The Head of State who spoke at Mandera Teachers Training College in Mandera County on Tuesday at noon slammed Gachagua for sabotaging the government agenda by attempting to divide Kenyans along regional lines and use of people's payslips.
Ruto, while criticising his former deputy, faulted him for being leaderless and lacking moral authority or a plan to dictate the decisions made by Kenyans.
The Head of State further assured Kenyans of the government’s commitment to ending such retrogressive criticism, noting that people like Gachagua had no future in the country’s political arena.
“I want to assure you that those attempting to divide us will fail miserably. Now, they are attempting to divide us into those coming from Mt Kenya and those from the Rift Valley and those with or without payslips,” Ruto commented.
“These people have no plan, agenda, or ideas. They are leaderless and they will not succeed in dividing our nation, they will fail!” he added.
While rallying for unity, the president announced the abolishment of the vetting process previously conducted in the Northern counties for Kenyans seeking to obtain Identification Cards (IDs).
"The issue of vetting which was discriminatory to the people of Northern Kenya and which made them seem like they were not part of Kenya when looking for an ID, I am going to abolish it," the Head of State pledged.
Meanwhile, Gachagua recently accused Ruto's administration of harsh tax policies which he claimed burdened most employed Kenyans.
Speaking at his Wamunyoro Home in Kiambu County, Gachagua expressed concerns over increased deductions by the government on salaried Kenyans. Addressing Kenyans through a live TikTok session, Gachagua pledged to rally for the removal of excess taxes imposed on citizens.
The former DP also promised to hold a conversation with youthful Kenyans particularly those in the online space to deliberate on the way forward.
"We want to restore the payslips because the government tampered with them and it has caused a lot of problems for Kenyans. By resolving it, Kenyans will be able to continue with their duties smoothly," Gachagau stated.