Ruto is a vicious man, he removed my security as I fought for my life - Gachagua

Embattled Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has alleged that President William Ruto instructed the withdrawal of his security detail while he was hospitalised.

Speaking publicly for the first time after his discharge from Karen Hospital, Gachagua expressed concern for his safety, stating that he currently lacks protection.

He emphasised the gravity of the situation, indicating that President Ruto should be held responsible if anything were to happen to him or his family.

He described the distress of being left without security while fighting for his health, revealing that during his hospitalisation, security personnel assigned to him were removed.

He claimed that Ruto had ordered not only the withdrawal of security from the hospital but also disarmed guards at his rural home in Nyeri and his private residence in Karen.

“My life comes first. My health comes first. It's unfortunate that when I was here in the hospital, my brother and friend, President William Ruto ordered the withdrawal of my security from the hospital here. I've been here alone without a single officer looking after me. He ordered the withdrawal of security guards in my rural home in Nyeri, in my private home here in Karen and also who are close to me, were disarmed and given a warning that they should not be anywhere near me. I didn't know President William Ruto could be that vicious,” he said.

The impeached deputy president expressed shock at what he characterised as the viciousness of a leader he once supported and believed in.

He conveyed disbelief that someone he had helped to attain the presidency could turn against him at such a vulnerable time.

“I'm shocked by how vicious a man I helped to be president, a man that I believed in, a man that I was persecuted when supporting him could so be so vicious against me when I'm fighting for my life in hospital. You know, as we speak today, the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya, has no single security surrounding him,” he said.

Gachagua noted that he currently has no security measures in place, despite ongoing legal proceedings in which judges have issued conservatory orders against the Senate's actions.

Furthermore, Gachagua accused Ruto of violating court orders by instructing the head of the public service, Felix Koskei, to send all officers in his office on compulsory leave.

He asserted that all vehicles assigned to his office were impounded, which he viewed as an attempt to undermine the functions of the Deputy President's office.

“He ordered, through the head of the public service, Felix Koskei, that all officers in my office be sent on compulsory leave yesterday... I don't understand, this level of viciousness for a man who has been a deputy who helped you to become president, irrespective of whatever he has done at his lowest moment in life, when he's struggling to stay alive, you unleash such viciousness against him,” he said.

Gachagua expressed a sense of betrayal, stating that he bears no grudge but finds the current actions of President Ruto deeply troubling, especially given his struggles at this time.