The Jubilee Party faction affiliated with former President Uhuru Kenyatta has revealed that President William Ruto is not planning to back his deputy Rigathi Gachagua's political ambitions and is instead fixing him and quietly sabotaging the country's second in command behind the scenes.
Speaking during an engagement meeting in Lamu on Saturday, Vice Chairman David Murathe claimed that the clearest indication that Ruto and Gachagua are reading from different scripts is the Head of State's move to appoint senior members of the Jubilee Party such as former national chairman Nelson Dzuya as a member of the Non-Governmental Organizations Co-ordination Board.
Murathe also claimed that Ruto has also warmed up to East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA) MP Kanini Kega and nominated MP Sabina Chege to stop them from aligning themselves politically with DP Gachagua, which he cited as one of the strategies that Ruto is employing.
According to Murathe, the reasoning behind this is to stop Gachagua from forming his party.
“Ruto is clever, he knows the law, he is looking for ways to get rid of the officials because they started aligning themselves politically with DP Gachagua like Kanini and Sabina. Ruto cannot let DP Gachagua to form his own party. So he is cutting him down to size,” claimed Murathe.
Murathe, a close ally of Uhuru further explained that the plan by the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) to have 2 more deputy leaders alongside Gachagua, is a plot to clip the deputy president's wings.
“You have heard the attempts to have 3 deputy party leaders including installing Mudavadi, Wetangula, and Rigathi. That is why you have heard Mt Kenya protesting because they insist the party only has 1 deputy party leader, Rigathi. When a person wants to trim your influence, they don't tell you directly. The union is already finished, ” Murathe further claimed.
Murathe further fired a warning to Azimio principals Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka, warning them that he would run for the presidency himself if they didn't have a tangible plan on how to dethrone Ruto.
“Let them declare it, even Kioni here and myself have what it takes to run for the top seat,” charged Murathe.
Ditching UDA
Speaking at the same event, embattled Jubilee Party Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni claimed that President Ruto is planning to ditch UDA and run on another ticket in 2027.
“William Ruto will not run on UDA, he will seek an alternative political party to run in 2027. So if you have become comfortable thinking that all is well, you are in for a rude shock,” Kioni remarked.
“Ruto will be a one-term president, he will not win in 2027, so if you don't know where home is, ask those who are informed,“ stated Kioni.
Kioni also criticised President Ruto on several aspects including his foreign trips, debt appetite, and introduction of punitive bills by UDA MPs.
“I have heard that he is currently in Djibouti. That is the 44th country he is visiting. I have also heard that Musalia is in London to celebrate Kenya's 60th anniversary, he can't celebrate in Kenya. They have become like tourists, Kenya has become like a stopover for them,“ he stated.
On debt accumulation, Kioni questioned why Ruto kept criticising Uhuru for borrowing, yet he had taken the same path and saddled the country with debt of over Ksh4 trillion within a short period.
Kioni argued that Uhuru was better off since could point to some infrastructure projects he had launched.
