Handshake: Gachagua's Condition To Work With Ruto

By Our Correspondent

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has ruled out any possibility of working with President William Ruto again, setting the resurrection of slain Gen Z protesters as his only condition for reconciliation.

Speaking during an interview on Inooro TV on Sunday, February 1, Gachagua made clear his stance remains unshakeable after months of political upheaval.

“I can only work with Ruto if all the Gen Zs killed are resurrected,” the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader declared.

The statement underscores the bitter fallout between the once-powerful political duo who swept to power in 2022 with strong backing from the Mount Kenya region.

Gachagua’s political fortunes collapsed spectacularly in October 2024 when he became the first deputy president to be removed through impeachment under Kenya’s 2010 constitution.

On October 8, 2024, the National Assembly voted 282-44 to impeach him on 11 charges. The Senate upheld the decision nine days later, finding him guilty on five counts including gross violation of the constitution, practicing ethnically divisive politics, and threatening judges.

The former DP was hospitalized with chest pains during the Senate trial and did not testify in his defense. Despite court orders temporarily halting his removal, Kithure Kindiki was eventually sworn in as his replacement on November 1, 2024.

Gachagua has consistently maintained the impeachment was politically motivated, calling it a “political lynching” orchestrated by Ruto after their relationship deteriorated.

The Gen Z-led protests that Gachagua referenced erupted in June 2024 over the controversial Finance Bill proposing punitive taxes on everyday items including bread and menstrual products.

What began as economic grievance quickly evolved into widespread anger against government corruption and police brutality.

According to Amnesty International, at least 128 people died across both the 2024 and 2025 protest waves. Human Rights Watch reported that at least 60 young protesters were killed in June 2024 alone, with many shot during the storming of Parliament on June 25, 2024.

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights documented more than 83 cases of abductions and enforced disappearances. Over 3,000 arrests were made as authorities deployed teargas, water cannons, and live ammunition against largely unarmed demonstrators.

During anniversary protests on June 25, 2025, another 12 people were killed and over 400 injured as the government crackdown continued.

Gachagua has accused Ruto of bearing direct responsibility for these deaths and the violent suppression of constitutional rights to peaceful assembly.

Since his impeachment, Gachagua has reported numerous violent disruptions of his public engagements, which he claims are state-sponsored.

In a formal letter to Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja, the DCP leader listed 10 separate incidents between November 2024 and January 2026 where he alleges police officers collaborated with armed goons to attack him and his supporters.

The most recent occurred on January 25, 2026, when teargas was lobbed into Witima ACK Church in Othaya, Nyeri County, forcing congregants to flee. Gachagua alleged that 15 police officers led by bodyguards of a prominent Murang’a politician stormed the church armed with AK-47s.

“The government is partnering with ragtag militias to create political mayhem. The police service has become complicit with goons tasked to attack political dissenters,” Gachagua said.

He has called on IG Kanja to resign if he cannot guarantee the safety of Kenyans, accusing him of inaction and failure to protect citizens.

Gachagua’s transformation from Ruto’s closest ally to his fiercest critic marks one of Kenya’s most dramatic political reversals.

The former DP has positioned himself as a champion of Gen Z protesters and their demands for accountability, reserving 50 percent of DCP nominated positions for young people.

He has vowed to make Ruto a one-term president and is working closely with Kalonzo Musyoka, with whom he has pledged that Mount Kenya votes will go “into one basket” to support whichever opposition candidate emerges for 2027.

Meanwhile, Ruto has been making strategic inroads into Mount Kenya, visiting Gachagua’s Mathira stronghold and securing endorsements from local leaders including Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga.

Political analysts see the battle for Mount Kenya, which delivered 87 percent of Ruto’s votes in 2022, as crucial to the 2027 election outcome.