Gachagua Launches Fierce Attack On Ruto Government Over Security, Tribal Politics And DCP Growth
Politics Updated: 25 May 2026 16:17 EAT
Democracy for the Citizens Party Leader Rigathi Gachagua addressing the press on national issues as he arrives back from the United Kingdom
Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua has intensified his political offensive against President William Ruto’s administration, accusing the government of recklessness, ethnic favoritism and exposing the country to possible instability through what he termed as serious failures in presidential security management.
Addressing the press after a National Executive Council meeting of the DCP party, Gachagua announced major changes within the opposition outfit, including the appointment of Nyandarua Senator John Methu as the party’s Secretary General designate despite being elected on a UDA ticket.
“Having been elected on a UDA ticket to the Senate, our lawyers are looking at the legal implications, but Senator John Methu, for all practical purposes, is a member of DCP and he’ll start acting from today as the Secretary General designate and be the spokesman, the spokesperson of the DCP party on all matters. Starting today, in due course, in the fullness of time, his name will be forwarded to the Registrar of Political Parties so that he is registered as the duly appointed Secretary General of DCP.”
Gachagua said the DCP National Executive Council had already assigned Methu his first political task, revealing that the senator would coordinate the party’s campaigns in the upcoming Kahawa West by-election together with Thika Town MP Alice Ng'ang'a and other party officials.
“The National Executive Council has given Senator John Methu, the Secretary General designate, his first assignment: that he, together with the Honorable Alice Ng’ang’a, the MP for Thika Town, and other leaders, take charge of the by-elections in Kahawa West and ensure a decisive victory for the DCP party in the elections scheduled for 16th of July.”
The former Deputy President further claimed that DCP was rapidly expanding across the country and attracting thousands of aspirants seeking to contest various elective positions under the party banner ahead of the 2027 General Election.
According to Gachagua, the party had already registered dozens of gubernatorial aspirants, nearly 100 senatorial hopefuls and hundreds of parliamentary candidates, while more than 11,000 aspirants had shown interest in MCA positions across the country.
“The party has also reviewed the progress and growth of our party, and NEC is very happy that thousands of aspirants have shown interest and registered with the party with the intention of flying the party’s flag in the next general election. We want to assure aspirants who have indicated interest that the party will hold free and fair nominations, as it happened during the nominations for the Ganda by-election.”
Gachagua also claimed that the party had internally registered more than 4.5 million supporters despite alleged obstacles from the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties, which he accused of frustrating efforts by members seeking to officially defect from UDA to DCP.
“Because we are having a big challenge with the office of the Registrar of Political Parties, the system is refusing to remove people from UDA to DCP, and we think it’s deliberate. We want to tell UDA: you can keep the names on the RPP register, but you cannot keep their hearts there in DCP.”
The DCP leader then shifted focus to the security of President Ruto, saying he had deliberately remained silent on the matter for months because exposing weaknesses surrounding the Head of State could endanger national security.
He maintained that despite political differences with the President, the opposition wanted Ruto removed from office only through democratic elections and not through violence or instability.
“The security of the President, his safety, and his well-being is a very important ingredient of our political stability as a country. It is key to national security. The President of Kenya, no matter how unpopular he is, must be safe and he must be properly protected, because if anything was to happen to him, we would have a crisis of unknown magnitude.”
Gachagua cited the 1994 Rwanda tragedy involving former President Juvénal Habyarimana as an example of how attacks against national leaders could plunge a country into chaos and long-term instability.
The former Deputy President accused Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen of incompetence, claiming he lacked the maturity and seriousness required to oversee the country’s security docket.
“The problem of the security of William Ruto is that he has a CS Interior who is naive, childish, and juvenile in the inner circles of the ministry. I am told he is called the ‘Minister for Entertainment.’ Security chiefs are telling me he is not available to be briefed on the security of the country, and when he is available, he does not comprehend security briefs.”
Gachagua further claimed that he had personally advised President Ruto against appointing Murkomen to the Interior Ministry during last year’s Cabinet changes following anti-government protests and unrest linked to the Finance Bill demonstrations.
“When we had the JKIA revolt and William Ruto disbanded the cabinet, I was Deputy President and everybody was demanding that Kipchumba Murkomen should be sacked. William Ruto asked me whether I could appoint him as CS Interior. I couldn’t believe my eyes or my ears, and I told him, ‘You can't.’”
The opposition leader questioned how Murkomen could guarantee the safety of ordinary Kenyans when, according to him, the President himself appeared vulnerable during public events and national tours.
He pointed to several recent incidents in Migori, Kibra and Mombasa where individuals allegedly breached security barriers and came dangerously close to the President during public engagements.
“In May 2025, William narrowly escaped a shoe aimed at his head, which he blocked with his hand in Migori. In Kibra, on 28th April 2026, a flying bottle of water was hurled at the President by a surging crowd. On 6th February 2026, another young man ran to him in Mombasa. People are asking: if the President of Kenya is not safe, who is safe?”
Gachagua also questioned the effectiveness of the President’s Aide-de-Camp and the entire Presidential Escort Unit, saying security personnel appeared overwhelmed and unprepared during recent security scares involving the Head of State.
“I’m wondering where was the ADC, because my understanding of the security architecture around the President is that the ADC is the last man on the defense line — that if everything else failed and somebody came with a knife, the ADC would go between the President and the knife, or between the President and the bullet.”
The former Deputy President described the current state of presidential security as dangerous and irresponsible, warning that any serious attack against the President could destabilize the entire country.
He claimed that many officers assigned to protect the President had become demoralized because of corruption, delayed allowances and alleged favoritism within the Presidential Escort Unit.
“What is happening is that the Presidential Escort Unit is a demoralized lot. It is demoralized because one Kipchumba Eliud Langat and the immediate Escort Commander have ethnicized that unit. Nearly all officers are from one community where the President comes from.”
Gachagua further alleged that officers from communities outside the President’s ethnic group had been sidelined and denied opportunities to participate in presidential escort duties, creating resentment and lowering professionalism within the unit.
“All other officers from other communities are very demoralized, and they are never given an opportunity to escort the President around. Escorting the President around comes with privileges and allowances. All officers from other communities don't leave the camp.”
The DCP leader additionally accused senior security commanders of corruption, alleging that officers were forced to surrender part of their allowances before being allocated duties to escort the President during official functions and tours.
“When they travel, their allowances — the DIG, the PSU, and the immediate Escort Commander demand half the allowances of these officers for them to be allocated to escort the President. So they are very demoralized and very unhappy people.”
He sensationally claimed that officers guarding State House were witnessing huge sums of money allegedly being distributed to political leaders while they themselves remained unpaid for months.
“They are allocated their duty to guard millions of shillings being brought to State House to bribe voters. They are the ones who supervise money being offloaded from trucks in sacks to State House. They see Members of Parliament coming every Friday — they leave with brown envelopes, yet themselves they have nothing.”
Gachagua urged President Ruto to overhaul the security leadership around him and appoint more experienced individuals to the Interior Ministry, suggesting former Inspector General Joseph Boinnet and former intelligence boss Philip Kameru among those capable of handling the docket.
“You must fire Murkomen and find somebody who is levelheaded, somebody who knows what he’s doing. We have the former IG Boinnet. He can be a good CS Interior. We have Buoyet, who was a Director of National Intelligence. He can be CS Interior.”
The opposition leader also accused the government of using criminal gangs alongside police officers to intimidate critics and suppress dissent, particularly in the Mt Kenya region where anti-government protests have intensified.
“This country now is run by goons. You cannot tell the difference between goons and police officers. Goons have taken over the country. They ride in police vehicles. They are even supplied with tear gas.”
Gachagua further alleged that Murkomen was sponsoring chaos in the Mt Kenya region in order to convince President Ruto that local unrest was caused by internal ethnic rivalries rather than public dissatisfaction with the Kenya Kwanza administration.
He claimed the Interior Ministry had failed to address security concerns in border areas such as Mandera while focusing instead on political operations aimed at weakening opposition strongholds.
“As we speak in Mandera, the town has been taken over by foreign forces from Jubaland. Instead of Murkomen working on that, he is sponsoring goons in the Mt. Kenya region to cause havoc to create an impression that there is a crisis in the Mt. Kenya region.”
The DCP leader maintained that despite his fierce criticism of President Ruto, he still wanted the Head of State protected because the stability of the nation depended on the safety and continuity of the presidency.
“As much as I don't like William Ruto, as much as I have a big problem with the way he has managed this country, I want William Ruto safe because it’s important for the stability of this country. I want to have a chance to defeat William Ruto at the election.”
Gachagua also accused UDA Secretary General Hassan Omar of inciting Kenyans against the Mt Kenya region through divisive political statements allegedly made with the approval of the President.
“Hassan Omar is just a mouthpiece of William Ruto. Those matters were discussed in State House Mombasa and everybody was given a script. Hassan Omar was given a script. Senate Speaker Amason Kingi was given a script.”
He further accused President Ruto of attempting to revive ethnic divisions similar to those witnessed during the 2007 post-election violence, warning that Kenyans would reject any attempt to isolate communities politically.
“William Ruto, we want to tell you: in 2007 you mobilized 41 against the Mountain people. Thereafter they were massacred in cold blood. Women and children were torched in Kiambaa. We know you have picked from where you left.”
The former Deputy President also criticized Deputy President Kithure Kindiki for allegedly remaining silent while leaders allied to the government attacked the Mt Kenya community politically.
“As Hassan was abusing the Mountain people and saying they should be locked up at Shimo la Tewa and they should never get anywhere near leadership, Kithure Kindiki from Tharaka was clapping and laughing and giggling sheepishly. It’s a shame.”
Gachagua concluded by warning that Kenya risked political instability if the government failed to restore professionalism within the security sector and reduce ethnic tensions ahead of the next General Election.
“People of Kenya, pray for this country. As from what I can see, we could have a serious breakdown of law and order if the President is not protected and even harm came his way out of recklessness and irresponsibility of the CS Interior.”
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