Gachagua says Ruto threw him under the bus over shareholding remarks
By David Nthua, August 26, 2025The Democracy for Citizens’ Party Leader Rigathi Gachagua has said his shareholding remarks were misquoted courtesy of President William Ruto, whom he says misled the masses.
Gachagua told a local TV station on Tuesday, August 26, 2025, that he once sat Ruto down over the shareholding issue, but the latter chose to look the other way.
Gachagua defended himself, saying he had no ill motive in speaking about government shareholding but was only pushing for the fulfilment of a political pact struck in 2022.
He explained that during negotiations leading up to the elections, he had demanded a fair allocation of cabinet slots and appointments for the Mt Kenya region in return for delivering a huge voting bloc.
“I negotiated for eight positions in a cabinet of 22. I negotiated with the president because of the vote I was bringing in; it was up to him to make the decision. He is the appointing authority. When Raila came, he negotiated for four positions for him to support William Ruto,” Gachagua claimed.
He insisted that other leaders also made political bargains, and his own demands were no different.
However, he claimed that his forthrightness was used against him, with the president branding him tribal and manipulative.
Out of context
On the shareholding concept, Gachagua stressed that he was misunderstood and unfairly vilified.
“This matter has been taken out of context. I sat down with Ruto and negotiated, on behalf of the Mt Kenya people, our expectations from the government. He negotiated for 70% of our votes in exchange for 40% of the government. I was simply pushing for the honouring of that agreement,” Gachagua added.
“Unluckily for me, there was no written agreement and it was not honoured.”
The former deputy president lamented that his stance was not about tribalism but about fairness and respect for commitments made during campaigns.
By distancing himself from accusations, Gachagua maintained that he was only standing up for the Mt Kenya voters who overwhelmingly supported Ruto in 2022.