NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 10 – President William Ruto has stepped up his political confrontation with former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, accusing him of intimidating emerging leaders and attempting to frustrate their political ambitions ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Ruto singled out Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro, National Assembly Majority Whip Sylvanus Osoro, Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wah and Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot among politicians he claimed had become targets of Gachagua’s criticism.
Speaking during a development tour of Kisii County on Tuesday, November 10, the President warned the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader against picking fights with younger politicians, saying they should be allowed to develop their leadership credentials without intimidation.
He invoked the biblical story of King Herod, who ordered the killing of male children in Bethlehem in an attempt to eliminate the infant Jesus, to portray what he described as Gachagua’s hostility towards rising political figures.
“I want to tell that man to leave the young people alone, these emerging young leaders. Don’t we have young leaders who are growing? People like Osoro, Zaheer Jhanda and Donya. Leave Kenya’s young leaders alone,” Ruto said.
Turning directly to his former deputy, the President added: “You, Mr Herod, whenever you see young leaders growing, you go after them and attack them.”
