"Please don't kill us!" Gachagua pleads after alleging assassination attempts on his life

Embattled Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has asked President William Ruto to spare his life, following troubling incidents that he claims have put his life at risk.

Speaking for the first time after being discharged from Karen Hospital, Gachagua expressed serious concerns for his safety noting that he no longer feels safe.

He alleged that there were multiple attempts on his life even before his impeachment motion.

Gachagua recounted two specific incidents where he believes he was targeted for poisoning. He described an alarming encounter on August 30, 2024, in Kisumu, where he claims undercover security agents entered his room and attempted to poison his food, a scheme that was fortunately thwarted.

“I want to tell the people of Kenya that I don't feel safe. For the first time, let me say that on August 30, in Kisumu, undercover security agents entered my room in Kisumu and bugged it. One of them tried to poison my food, but we detected it, and we were able to escape the scheme I was supposed to be killed through poisoning,” he said.

He revealed that a subsequent attempt occurred on September 3 in Nyeri, where he alleges that a team from the National Intelligence Service made another effort to poison food meant for him and the Kikuyu Council of Elders.

“On the third of September in Nyeri, another team from the National Intelligence Service came to Nyeri and tried to poison food that was meant for me and the Kikuyu Council of Elders. I did report this matter to the National Intelligence Service and the officers who are assigned to my office. I asked them to leave because I felt I was not safe after the two attempts to assassinate me through food poisoning failed,” he said.

“It is when this impeachment motion was hatched.”

Security withdrawal

After these alleged assassination attempts, Gachagua said he expressed a profound sense of vulnerability and decided to request the withdrawal of security personnel assigned to him, feeling that his safety was compromised.

He conveyed feelings of exposure for himself and his family, suggesting that the motives behind these actions are politically driven.

“When my security was withdrawn here, also from the hovering in every room in every compound, to an extent that I had to call my wife and my children to come and stay in my room just in case they get entry to my room or compromise the people who are treating me. So my family feel very exposed because these people have tried to kill us before, they have now tried to get us out of office,” he said.

Gachagua remunerated his past support for Ruto, urging him to allow him and his family to live peacefully. He implored the president to let them be, despite the political turbulence surrounding him.

“So President William Ruto, my brother, I helped you to be president. Leave me alone. Leave my children alone. Do whatever you want, but let me leave. Let me look after my children. You can do whatever you want with the country, but allow me to live because I was there for you when you needed somebody to be there for you when you were in trouble and you needed a man who would stand with you. I stood with you, with my family. You have paid us in kind by being so cruel and vicious against us,” he said.

“We are simple people. We are a very small family. Let us be. Do whatever you want, but please, Mr President, I beg you Don't kill us. Don't kill my children. You have caused me enough pain for the last one year. Please leave me alone. Let me be, God will take care of me. I don't have to have security. I don't have to have drivers. I don't have to have cars. Please allow me to have my peace, if nothing else. And remember I was there for you when you needed a man to be there for you.”

He also called on Chief Justice Martha Koome to uphold the Constitution and ensure that the rule of law prevails, expressing hope for a fair judicial process regarding his situation.

“Let the courts of law uphold and protect our Constitution. I ask the Chief Justice, Martha Koome, to live through to the fidelity of our Constitution, to make sure that this is a country of the rule of law, to allow the court process to take place and to ensure that this process is not Nurul. They are orders asking that being in office until this matter is heard and determined, let it be. Thank you very much. Thank you in court,” he said.