'Kenyans are your opponents' Gachagua dismisses Ruto's Uhuru talk as bad deflection

• Gachagua fingered President Ruto for blaming Mr. Kenyatta whenever his competence is under scrutiny.

A photo collage of President William Ruto and DCP leader Rigathi Gachagua. Photo/Courtesy

Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader has gone after President William Ruto, asking him to steer clear of using his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta, as a scapegoat to mask his leadership failures.

In a statement on Wednesday, Gachagua fingered President Ruto for blaming Mr. Kenyatta whenever his competence is under scrutiny.

"President Uhuru Kenyatta is not your opponent in this election. You are just trying a bad deflection. Poor tactic Mr. Ruto, but we know you very well," he said.

The former Deputy President further reckoned that President Ruto is progressively proving that he is unfit for office and must be ousted during the 2027 General Election.

"President Uhuru Kenyatta did not sufficiently convince me and a majority of Kenyans that you were incapable of leading the country, that you were viciously corrupt, and that you would completely ruin our country in less than three years," Gachagua said.

"Today, you have proven to me and the whole country that President Uhuru was right. Based on that, he has no further role in convincing us that we must get rid of you on 10th August 2027 at the ballot."

This was after President Ruto during a campaign in Siaya County on Tuesday, labelled Uhuru a rebel leader who has refused to embrace the role of a statesman.

The President added that Kenyatta had disgraced the highest office in the land and accused him of continuing to sponsor the opposition in an effort to destabilise his government.

“Mimi nashangaa, mtu ambaye amekuwa Rais wa Kenya, unaacha kiti ya Rais, badala ya kwenda kuwa statesman, unaenda kuwa rebel leader, kiongozi wa upinzani. Mpaka saa hii korti inamwambia atoke,” President Ruto stated, responding to a court ruling ordering Uhuru to step down from the Jubilee Party's leadership.

Gachagua, in his onslaught, added that President Ruto should address the key issues dogging his administration and cease hiding behind Mr. Kenyatta's shadow.

"55 million Kenyans are your opponents. Have you ever heard of a President hated even by children? Even the worst dictators do better. Your ranking is on another level," Gachagua noted.

"Your opponents are the people of Kenya: the payslip holders whose payslips you have raided, the GenZs whom you have abducted and killed, the Christians whose churches you have defiled, the business people whom you have run out of business, patients who have no medicine and lack medical insurance, parents and students with no access to affordable education, and all those choking under the high cost of living."

He argued that the opposition and Kenyans will not be deterred from the goal of ousting him in the 2027 polls, arguing that the alleged bribing political culture will not work on the electorate this time round.

"Be advised that the leaders tasked with the responsibility of removing you from office by Kenyans require no sponsorship. They have clear, and sufficient instructions from the people of Kenya," Gachagua argued.

"This is the first presidential election where money is not a factor. Kenyans are so determined to get rid of you that they don't require any inducement."

Gachagua has been in the United States for a campaign tour attempting to woo diaspora voters to support his push for instilling new leadership in the next election.