Former Deputy President Honorable Rigathi Gachagua has sounded a stern warning to residents of the Mount Kenya region, claiming that President William Ruto is employing a fresh strategy to secure victory in the 2027 general election.
Speaking through his social media platforms, Gachagua alleged that Ruto has revived a religious approach, similar to what he deployed during the 2022 polls, to win over churchgoers and the general public.
According to Gachagua, Ruto’s previous election strategy involved extensive use of religious symbolism and emotional appeals. “He came with the Holy Bible and tears. He sang all vernacular songs.
He memorized all vernacular greetings across the country. He spoke in tongues. He went to all villages. He memorized all roads and routes in every village and town. He had a coquettish laughter. He donated Kshs 2M every Sunday,” Gachagua stated.
He further described how the electorate, particularly Christians, were allegedly swayed by Ruto’s display of piety and generosity. “We truly believed he was saved, and we happily made him the candidate for the Church of Christ. We elected him and were victims of the greatest electoral fraud since independence,” Gachagua added.
The former Deputy President also accused Ruto of failing to live up to the image projected during the campaign, claiming that his administration engaged in corruption and mismanagement. “After taking over, he shed off the pretense and displayed his true colours. Our children were abducted and slaughtered. For those who survived, he ordered they be shot in the leg before heading to prison on terrorism charges. He supervised the looting of national wealth, plunder of public resources, and sale of strategic public assets for a song,” Gachagua said.
Gachagua further highlighted alleged failures in key sectors, claiming that Ruto’s leadership has destroyed education, compromised the health system, and worsened conditions for the working class.
He also accused the administration of militarizing the police, stating, “He sent the National Police Service to Haiti on a benchmarking trip to learn how to work with criminal gangs, and now goons are a fully-fledged department of the National Police Service.”
Looking ahead to the 2027 election, Gachagua accused Ruto of returning with “trickery and treachery” in churches, using school buses to ferry supporters, offering cash incentives, and organizing cheering squads to simulate popular support. He alleged that certain church leaders are complicit in this strategy.
Despite these claims, Gachagua noted that some denominations—including the Catholic Church, PCEA, and ACK—remain resistant to such political manipulations. He concluded with a stark warning, invoking an African proverb: “When the death of a monkey is imminent, all trees are slippery.”
Gachagua’s remarks come amid growing political tension in the Mount Kenya region, with the 2027 general election approaching and leaders increasingly turning to aggressive campaigns to secure votes.
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