Impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has made explosive claims that President William Ruto is not fully in control of his government.
Speaking during a televised interview on Monday, April 7, 2025, Gachagua asserted that Ruto’s trusted aide Farouk Kibet and Head of Presidential Special Projects & Creative Economy Dennis Itumbi are the ones actually running the show.
Gachagua dismissed accusations that he was caught up in petty squabbles with junior government officials, saying the people he was accused of fighting were far from small players in the administration.
“He said I was fighting small men, but Farouk Kibet is not a small man. Farouk Kibet is the co-president. He runs the country. Everyone reports to him,” Gachagua stated during the interview.
According to the former deputy president, Ruto communicates to his cabinet secretaries through Kibet and the ministers quake in their boots at the sight of him. He claimed Kibet even attempted to take over his office by managing his appointments and meetings. Gachagua said he initially believed that was how Ruto preferred things to be done until he discovered Kibet was allegedly demanding money from people who wanted to see him.
Gachagua said he confronted Ruto about the matter, making it clear that he would not take instructions from a personal assistant.
“I went and told the Ruto that his personal assistant can not give me instructions. I told him if he wanted to give instructions, he do it himself and I would follow it to the letter, not his PA ordering me around. I told him he was taking advantage of his position to collect money from people to clear appointments, and I told him that I would fail if I did not advise him,” Gacahagua claimed.
He added that once he learned about Kibet’s corrupt activities linked to his office, he confronted him directly.
“I told him not to bring corruption into my office. If he wanted to do that, he should go to the president’s office. And I told the president the same,” Gachagua added.
He also accused Dennis Itumbi of playing a central role in government operations, particularly in shaping public messaging and writing official statements on behalf of ministries and agencies.
“Dennis Itumbi is not a small man either. All the statements you see cabinet secretaries release, even the one by DCI on the Mwiki violence, it’s Itumbi who writes them. He crafts, and they read,” Gachagua said.
Gachagua also denied ever disrespecting Members of Parliament or demanding that they kneel before him. Instead, he said he simply urged them to listen to public opinion.
“I have never told MPs to kneel before me. I told them to listen to the people and stop following President Ruto blindly. The Finance Bill 2024 was unpopular. I told MPs that if they didn’t align with the people by December, they’d be in trouble by 2027,” he explained.
Ruto speaks
These comments come just a week after President Ruto opened up about the rocky relationship with Gachagua.
In an interview on March 31, 2025, Ruto said tensions began soon after they assumed office. He recounted how Gachagua was constantly embroiled in disagreements with junior members of the administration, including Itumbi, Kibet, and various MPs.
Ruto said Gachagua repeatedly dragged the administration into unnecessary confrontations over issues that should have been resolved privately.
“After the election, we began working. But there were constant issues — ‘Itumbi said this,’ or ‘Farouk did that.’ I would call each of them to settle the matter,” Ruto said.
He narrated how Gachagua also clashed with MPs like Ndindi Nyoro and Kimani Ichung’wah, complaining about their actions and accusing them of undermining him.
Eventually, Ruto confronted him, asking why a Deputy President was spending time quarrelling with young bloggers and personal assistants instead of focusing on delivering for Kenyans.
“I told him, ‘You are the Deputy President. Why are you in conflict with these young men?’” Ruto recalled.
The President also criticized Gachagua for failing to publicly support government projects, saying that unlike him, when he served under former President Uhuru Kenyatta, he was constantly in the media highlighting development programs.
“You never saw Gachagua on TV talking about roads, electricity or UHC even once in two years,” Ruto said.