Gachagua scoffs at Ruto over making Kenya first-world country remarks

Aloys Michael 09th November, 2025 03:12 PM

Caption:Gachagua scoffs at Ruto over making Kenya first-world country remarks.VIDEO/K24TV

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has slammed President William Ruto over his stance to make Kenya a first-world nation in about 30 years.

Speaking on Sunday, November 9, 2025, during a church service, PCEA Kayole, Embakasi Central Constituency, Nairobi, Gachagua accused the Head of State of mismanagement of the country’s key sectors, such as health and education, which he said are struggling to serve the growing demands from the Kenyans, even as he focuses on his reelection bid.

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“Nchi yetu haitembei vizuri, minister wa Treasury ametangaza kuanzia January ile masomo tuliachiwa bure na Mwai Kibaki haitakuwa tena, mambo ya SHA haifanyi kazi biashara zimesimama. Na mimi nasikia Ruto akisema ati ako na mpango wa kufanya Kenya to be a first world country,” he said.

“If within three years kazi yote Kibaki alifanya ya Masomo umeharibu, Kazi ya matibabu Uhuru Kenyatta amefanya umeharibu, biashara umeharibu, Watoto umesema wapigwe risasi kwa mguu, wewe unaambia wakenya wakupe nafasi ati you can make Kenya a first world country, how? Within three years, you have destroyed a great country?”

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. PHOTO/@rigathi/X

The DCP boss’s sentiments come days after Ruto has pledged sweeping reforms, saying his administration will soon submit to Parliament a comprehensive plan meant to fast-track Kenya’s journey toward becoming a developed economy in the coming decades.

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Ruto’s ambitious dream

Speaking on Sunday, November 2, 2025, at the African Divine Church in Gamalenga, Vihiga County, Ruto said the proposals will outline the government’s long-term strategy to elevate Kenya from a third-world to a first-world economy through large-scale investments in infrastructure, energy, and agriculture.

“We have the plans and the vision to change this country from a Third World country to a First World country. It is possible to take this country to that level in our lifetime, in about 20 to 30 years,” the Head of State said.

The president said the country requires Ksh1.5 trillion for infrastructure projects, including roads, railways, and airports, and an additional Ksh1.5 trillion for energy development.

Moreover, Ruto said it will be directed toward agriculture, with a goal of bringing two million acres of land under active cultivation.

President William Ruto at a past event. PHOTO/https://www.facebook.com/williamsamoei

Ruto’s Kenya dream?

“To raise that money, we do not have to raise taxes; we just need brains, and that we have,” he emphasised.

Ruto estimated that Ksh4 trillion would be needed overall to shift Kenya from being a food-importing nation to a net exporter of agricultural products.

“We need to deal with the challenge of infrastructure. Ksh4 trillion is possibly the money we need to be able to move our nation from importing food to exporting products. To raise that money, we do not have to increase taxes,” he said.

This comes as the country continues to grapple with the effects of external borrowings and high recurrent expenditure, which snarls operations in key sectors such as education.

But the Head of State insisted that he has a clear plan and vision to improve the living standards across the country and bolster the economy.

Ruto is convinced that Kenya has resources, ideas, and human capital to be one of the developed countries in the world.

“We have what it takes, we have the ideas, the plan, the people, and the resources to take this country to a first world by 2055. I am persuaded beyond any reasonable doubt that we are going to move this country to a first world by 2055,” he stated.