By Suleiman Mbatiah
Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade and Industry, Lee Kinyanjui, has sharply criticized Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) party leader Rigathi Gachagua over remarks alleging that funds linked to the so-called Minnesota fraud were used to finance the 2022 Kenya Kwanza presidential campaign.
During a Sunday church service at AIPCA Kiratina in Komothai, Githunguri Constituency, Kiambu County, the former Deputy President called for United States authorities to investigate Kenya’s leadership over alleged foreign-linked campaign financing and extradite suspects like what happened to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro over the weekend.
“Mambo ya Minnesota, pesa iliibiwa, wale watu wamehusika ni business partners wa Rais. Mwenye mall iko Eastleigh ndiye mwenye hiyo scheme. We are asking you Trump, don’t bother about the extradition process in Kenya, wewe fanya vile ulifanya Venezuela, because Ruto amesema jamaa asitolewe huku,” he said.
Kinyanjui, while distancing himself from the investigation agencies, faulted what he described as reckless political conduct with serious international implications and at the same wondering that Gachagua was President William Ruto’s running mate in 2022 under the party he’s alleging to have been funded through illicit funds from the USA.
“While the province of investigations does not belong to me, the sheer lack of wisdom in failing to distinguish between political differences and matters of grave international significance is alarming,” Kinyanjui said while questioning the rationale of seeking external intervention on allegations that could expose the country to diplomatic and economic risks.
The former Nakuru Governor further warned that such statements, if left unchecked, could damage Kenya’s international standing and investor confidence, particularly at a time when the country is working to strengthen trade relations and attract foreign investment. He described the approach as naïve and driven by narrow political interests rather than national considerations.
“How can a leader seek to throw his own country into the deep end merely to score personal revenge? This brand of politics is retrogressive and dangerous. It reflects raw greed and naivety in handling matters that could have potentially catastrophic consequences,” he stated in a tirade after months of political rhetoric silence.
The CS cautioned Gachagua against pursuing reckless political vendettas, urging him to appreciate the limits of acceptable conduct. He said that while political outbursts are part of democracy, there are clear red lines that must not be crossed, especially on matters with national and international implications.
“To such people we say: A child can play with its mother’s breast, but not its father’s testicles,” he stated, adding that issues of national interest and international consequence require restraint, maturity, and responsibility, reiterating that careless political rhetoric can expose the country to serious diplomatic, economic, and reputational risks.