The relationship between Kenyan President William and his embattled deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, appears irreparable after the second in command accused his boss of being cruel with a deliberate intention to destroy him.
Gachagua, who has been in the hospital fighting for his life during his impeachment trial this week, said that Ruto ordered the total withdrawal of his security details as he was bedridden.
A visibly stressed and disappointed Gachagua spoke to the media on Sunday at the hospital, where he revealed that all his guards have been disarmed and warned never to get close to him.
“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 have 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 all officers who were close to me were disarmed and given warnings that they should not be anywhere near me,” he said.
“I didn’t know President William Ruto could be that vicious. I am shocked by how vicious a man I helped to become president, a man that I believed in, a man that I was persecuted when supporting him, could be so vicious against me when I am literally fighting for my life in the hospital. How cruel can a man be? As we speak today, the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya, Rigathi Gachagua, has no single security officer around him. He is alone,” he added.
On Wednesday, Gachagua physically attended the Senate impeachment trial but was nowhere to be seen on Thursday as trial continued.
His lead lawyer, Paul Muite, informed the Senate that his client had been hospitalized after suffering intense chest pains.
Muite sought an adjournment of the Senate until Tuesday, October 22, 2024, to allow the Deputy President to appear and give evidence, if any, on the grounds for his proposed removal from office by impeachment.
