Gachagua U-turns on ‘empty coffers’ claim, blames Ruto’s leadership for Kenya Kwanza failures
Gachagua said that Ruto's constant reshuffling of the Cabinet is an attempt to distract Kenyans from his own administrative failures.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has backtracked on an initial claim he made in 2022 that the Kenya Kwanza government inherited empty coffers from the administration of former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Gachagua made the allegation when he was sworn into office on September 13, 2022.
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"The truth of the matter is that we are inheriting a dilapidated economy that is facing almost an economic shutdown; we have a Sh10 trillion public debt," he said then.
However, in an interview on Friday, Gachagua contradicted his earlier statement, claiming that there were, in fact, more than enough resources to sustain the country after President William Ruto ascended to the presidency.
"To some extent, yes, the coffers were not overflowing. There wasn't surplus or real abundance, but there was enough to get the country back on its feet," Gachagua said.
In explaining why he allegedly didn't have access to the resources, Gachagua pointed to the centralised nature of decision-making within the Kenya Kwanza administration.
He said despite being the Deputy President at the time, his influence was limited because Ruto held absolute control over the administration's operations.
"I couldn't do anything because the administration of William Ruto is led by Ruto, implemented by Ruto, and overseen by Ruto; everything revolves around him. We were just there; [there was] nothing anyone could do," Gachagua stated.
Gachagua said that Ruto's constant reshuffling of the Cabinet is an attempt to distract Kenyans from his own administrative failures.
"That is why you find, out of the 22 ministers who were appointed in the first government, 13 have been shown the door and yet nothing has changed. [This is] because they are not the problem. The problem is one: the common denominator," he said.
"All these ministers who have been changed, it's a game of musical chairs. The problem is not the ministers; it is the President, because he does everything in this country. They know it but don't want to say it because they are mere flower girls."
Gachagua suggested that Ruto's advisors are ineffective because he doesn't listen to them, instead allegedly dictating how they should advise him.
"The president has more advisors than ministers, but the problem is that he advises his advisors on how to advise him. It is what you call a zero-sum game. Nothing can change in this country; it will get worse," he said.
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