Gachagua reveals why he held his own presser after Ruto’s during 2024 Gen Z protests

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has opened up about the tense moment he chose to hold a separate press conference at the height of the 2024 Gen Z protests, saying he could no longer remain silent as young Kenyans were being mistreated by the very government he served in.

Speaking during a DCP Youth event on 1, Gachagua recounted how he disagreed sharply with President William Ruto over the handling of the nationwide demonstrations, which were largely driven by young people demanding accountability and better governance.

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He revealed that his conscience as a leader and as a parent could not allow him to support a government response that involved the killing and abduction of citizens.

“Let me say that I completely disagreed with William Ruto when I was his deputy about many things, including the killing and abduction of our young people. I could not reconcile my conscience as a father, as a leader, and as the head of a household. As a government that had been elected by the people, we could not turn against the young or abduct and torture them,” he said.

The former Deputy President said that he made the difficult decision to hold his own media briefing on June 26, 2024, at the Coast, moments after President Ruto had addressed the nation.

According to him, while the President had labelled the young protesters as criminals, he instead chose to refer to them as sons and daughters of the nation.

“I was unable to be part of that government, and on June 26, 2024, I made a very serious decision. I flew to Mombasa and held a parallel press conference as Ruto addressed the nation,” Gachagua added.

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Gachagua disclosed that his move to address the media separately was met with resistance from some within the administration, who warned him against issuing a statement after the President had already spoken.

However, he maintained that his decision stemmed from moral conviction rather than politics, describing the events of that day as one of the hardest choices he had to make while in government.

“While he was calling our young protesters criminals, I was calling them my sons and daughters. Many people tried to stop me from holding that press conference, saying I was not allowed to speak after the President had already spoken,” Gachagua said.

“But I was seeing the President behaving like an animal, and I am not an animal myself,” he added.