CS Geoffrey Ruku Accuses Rigathi Gachagua of Sidelining Mt Kenya East, Affirms Support for Ruto and Kindiki
Public Service CS Geoffrey Ruku has accused former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and leaders from Mt Kenya West of sidelining Mt Kenya East communities for political gain, while reaffirming the region’s support for President William Ruto and Deputy President Kithure Kindiki.
Public Service CS Geoffrey Ruku. Photo/Courtesy
By Ruth Sang
Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku has come out and criticised former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua together with some leaders from the Mt Kenya West side, saying they have been politically playing round with communities from Mt Kenya East. He put it down to personal and political gains, like you know, “marginalising” them in a kind of quiet way but still very clear.
Ruku said all this after a church service at AIPCA St Dominic KK Mau in Igembe Central. According to him, some politicians from Mt Kenya West keep leaning on the support from Mt Kenya East when election time arrives, then once power is reached, they somehow forget the region. And he said residents from Mt Kenya East still stay firm, they continue backing President William Ruto and Deputy President Kithure Kindiki.
He also brushed off the ongoing chatter around the deputy presidency, saying the seat is already taken and that any talk about who comes next should really start only after 2032. Like, not now, not before.
Ruku went further and argued that Kenya’s liberation struggle was not some single region kind of story, but a joint effort with many communities across the country. He added that the Mau Mau movement shouldn’t be treated as something owned by only one place, or one side, just because people want to claim it.
Then he went after Gachagua , who is leading the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP), saying Gachagua is pushing a political plan meant to wall Mt Kenya West off from the rest of Kenya. In Ruku’s view, Mt Kenya East won’t be dragged into that kind of setup.
He argued that Mt Kenya East, made up of Meru, Isiolo, Tharaka Nithi, Embu and Kirinyaga counties, should focus on its own political directions and economic needs. He said development efforts carried out in Mt Kenya West shouldn’t automatically be sold as if they are benefits for the whole wider Mt Kenya region.
“Whenever projects are undertaken in Mt Kenya West, there is a narrative pushed by Gachagua and his allies suggesting that Mt Kenya East has benefited equally, which is not always the case,” Ruku said.
The CS also targeted opposition leaders who previously held top positions in government. He claimed they didn’t properly use their influence to push development for their own communities. And he singled out former Cabinet Secretaries Peter Munya and Mithika Linturi, saying they didn’t champion the concerns of the Meru community while they were in government.
Ruku added that the two leaders also failed to show proper deference to Deputy President Kindiki, whom he described as a senior elder within the Njuri Ncheke council.
At the end, Ruku urged the Meru community, and Kenyans generally, to support President Ruto’s re-election bid. He pointed to what he called major development achievements under the current administration, saying the government’s performance on infrastructure, economic empowerment, and public service delivery stacks up well against previous governments since independence.
Ruku told citizens to rally behind the President’s development plan, and to keep national unity intact. He stressed that inclusive politics and a development-first approach are key if Kenya wants to keep moving forward and keep prospering.
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