Suna East MP and Minority leader at the National Assembly Junet Mohamed has accused former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua of frustrating an effort by Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan to bring President William Ruto and Raila Odinga together at the height of political unrest.
Junet said Gachagua opposed the planned meeting and warned Ruto against attending, allegedly threatening to resign from his position as Deputy President if the President proceeded with the talks.
The lawmaker made the claims on Tuesday, August 11, as he hit out at Gachagua over his recent remarks on Raila and his continued criticism of the Ruto administration.
Junet said the proposed talks followed opposition demonstrations that had created tension in the country, prompting Suluhu to step in and seek a way of easing the political situation.
“After the elections, when ODM went to the demonstrations and things were very bad and the country was going to the dogs, Tanzania's President, on her own initiative, decided to come here and do arbitration between President Ruto and former Prime Minister,” Junet alleged.
He recalled travelling with Raila to Nanyuki, where they held talks with Suluhu before a meeting with Ruto was planned for the following day.
According to Junet, they waited for Ruto to join them but instead received a call from the President explaining why he could not attend.
“When we were waiting for him the following day, President Ruto called and said that his deputy President Gachagua has told me not to go to the meeting because if I do, he will resign as DP,” Junet claimed.
The Suna East MP said Ruto was faced with the choice of addressing the dispute with Raila while risking a fresh problem within his administration.
“So President Ruto said he might be going to solve one crisis but create another one in his government. So he urged us to look for another way to resolve the matter."
Junet said they accepted the decision and pursued another way of engaging with the government.
“We told President Ruto not to create another crisis and we looked for another formula and we still talked,” he added.
He said the episode remained one of the reasons ODM could not consider working with Gachagua in a political coalition.
Junet also questioned Gachagua’s recent attempts to speak about Raila, saying the former Deputy President had not visited the family since the opposition chief’s death.
“When Raila died, all the leadership, both in government and in Opposition, were present. Did you see anyone looking like Gachagua? Up to date, he's not gone to the family to tell them sorry. He wants to use Raila's name to make statements, bure kabisa,” he remarked.
The lawmaker went further, accusing Gachagua of having been opposed to Raila during the 2023 demonstrations and claiming he had directed security officers to target the former Prime Minister.
“It is in public domain that it is Rigathi who made an attempt on Raila Odinga’s life during the 2023 demonstration when he instructed security officers to aim at him. To date, he has never mourned Raila. It is a fact, he hated Baba with a passion. In fact, he's transferred the hate to me.”
Junet’s remarks came as Gachagua continued to attack the Ruto administration over how the country has been governed during the President’s first term.
In a statement issued earlier, Gachagua accused Ruto of concentrating authority over independent constitutional commissions, State agencies and public procurement.
"Over the last four years, William Ruto has captured the state. He has focused on centralising control of independent constitutional commissions, State entities, public sector procurement and sale of strategic national assets. All these measures are aimed at achieving the objective of enriching himself at the expense of 55 million Kenyans," he claimed.
Gachagua further alleged that Ruto had become a US dollar billionaire during his four years in office through what he described as the looting of public resources.
"He has achieved the milestone of being certified as a US dollar billionaire in a four-year record courtesy of looting Kenyan public coffers."
The former Deputy President warned that the President’s performance and record would face scrutiny as political parties and leaders prepare for the 2027 General Election.