Gachagua: How Uhuru's Officials Stole Ksh16B Flown From Wilson Airport

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua pointed a finger at senior officials in former President Uhuru Kenyatta's administration who stole Ksh16 billion from public coffers before the handover to President William Ruto.

Addressing Tetu Constituency professionals converged in Nairobi on Friday, March 3, Gachagua alleged that the officials stole Ksh6 billion in the pretence of selling shares prior to the 2022 general elections.

They also allegedly stole a further Ksh10 billion following President Ruto's Supreme Court victory in the presidential petition filed by Azimio la Umoja leader, Raila Odinga.

According to Gachagua, the funds were packed in boxes and transported to Wilson Airport where they would be flown in choppers to people's houses.

“Two days before the elections, they stole Ksh6 billion and pretended to sell some shares. When there was a case before the Supreme Court, they stole another Ksh10 billion purportedly to pay some contractors.

“Money was being brought in cartons at Wilson Airport and flown in choppers to people's homes. And these are the people now you are hearing are being summoned to record a few statements, they board a flight to escape. And these people, who are thieves, were calling others thieves. They ripped this country, they took everything,” he stated.

Gachagua went ahead to blame the officials for the alleged theft of the funds in wanton circumstances, contributing to the dilapidated state of the economy. Furthermore, he reiterated that the Kenya Kwanza government inherited a dilapidated economy from President Uhuru's regime.

“I said during my inauguration about the country we inherited...some people thought I was being mischievous. We inherited a dilapidated country, the coffers were empty, the stores were empty, not even rats were there because there was nothing to eat,” said the DP.

“We have started building this country from scratch. All the good work that President Mwai Kibaki did in 10 years was totally destroyed. All the good work Kibaki did of building a strong economy, of having thriving businesses, of allowing people to trade freely, of making sure there is money circulating in the economy, all of it was destroyed especially during the handshake era.”

He said domestic borrowing from commercial banks at high-interest rates also contributed to the strain on the economy as the borrowers had also owned the same banks and could not negotiate interest to be charged, something he added the Kenya Kwanza government has since moved to stop with immediate effect to allow the country to recover.

He however noted there was hope and that the Ruto administration would fix the economy.

“I want to give you hope. Before we came into power we were blacklisted by international lenders but now everything is okay for we have been given a thumbs up,” noted the DP.

Neither the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) nor the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) had issued a response to Gachagua's allegations by the time of publication.

President William Ruto and his predecessor, Uhuru, were reported in late September 2022 to have spent up to Ksh579 million in the run-up to the month of June 2022 amidst campaigns for the August 9 general elections.

The millions were spent on trips within the country and increased amidst vicious campaigns for the State House job, with Uhuru backing Raila for the presidency. According to the Controller of Budget report, the increased travel saw Ruto and Uhuru's offices increase their spending on trips by 191.3 per cent from the Ksh198.79 million they spent in the three months to June 2021.

The Ksh579 million was equivalent to 66.2 per cent of the Ksh873.90 million the Presidency spent on trips in the year to June, reflecting the increased travel by the duo ahead of the elections.

The budget office data showed that the national government spend Ksh20.17 billion on local and foreign travel in the year to June, reflecting a 41.9 per cent jump from Ksh14.21 billion spent the year earlier.