Rigathi Gachagua, the leader of the Democracy for the Citizens Party and former deputy president, has made new claims about his role in facilitating high-level foreign meetings during his time in office.
Speaking in an interview on Citizen TV’s The Explainer, Gachagua revealed that he personally arranged and oversaw a meeting between President William Ruto and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, who was then Sudan’s deputy president and the leader of the Rapid Support Forces.
He explained that this meeting was done at the request of President Ruto, who could not officially make such an invitation directly because of diplomatic protocol.
According to Gachagua, the arrangement required him to not only sign the official invitation letter but also handle the logistics of Hemedti’s visit.
“President William Ruto has a working relationship with Hemedti, the leader of RSF. I have said that and I have evidence. I am the one who facilitated the meeting between President William Ruto and Hemedti on his request, because diplomatically a President cannot invite a DP to come and visit him and Hemedti at that time was the DP of Sudan,” he stated.
Gachagua went further to say that he picked Hemedti from the airport, delivered him to President Ruto, and even sat through their discussions.
The former deputy president disclosed that the talks were official but mostly centered around trade issues, particularly business dealings and gold.
“It was official, but they (Ruto and Hemedti) were discussing business and trade and gold. Initially, I did not know the purpose of the meeting,” Gachagua revealed.
His comments tie into wider concerns raised in the United States after Senator James Risch introduced an amendment bill questioning Kenya’s non-NATO ally status due to alleged connections with extremist groups. Gachagua pointed to this development as proof that the matter is being taken seriously outside Kenya.
He also challenged his former boss to directly respond to allegations linking him to Al-Shabaab, insisting that the Interior Cabinet Secretary, Kipchumba Murkomen, was overstepping by defending him.
“President William Ruto answered on the issue of China; he has a mouth; he can answer whether he met Al Shabaab or he did not meet Al Shabaab. Kipchumba Murkomen is not the spokesman for William Ruto,” Gachagua asserted.
Addressing another controversy, he distanced himself from claims that he branded Mandera residents as terrorists. He clarified that his remarks were not directed at the people but at the president himself.
“After I asked Ruto to explain about the alleged meeting he had with Al-Shabaab in Mandera, some leaders in that area accused me of having called the people of Mandera terrorists.
The people of Mandera are very innocent and have nothing to do with these accusations; the accusations are against Ruto,” he explained.
Gachagua concluded by saying that he possesses credible information relevant to U.S. investigations into the matter and is ready to provide it if approached by the appropriate authorities.
“I have a lot of information that is available to those investigating the matter. It is a matter in the US Senate not Kenya hence I will not volunteer information to a body that is not investigating the matter,” he remarked.
Through these revelations, Gachagua has placed both President Ruto and the government under renewed scrutiny over foreign relations and sensitive security allegations. His statements raise questions that now await official answers.
