Gaucho Declares Support For Finance Bill, Wants To Meet Ruto

Self-proclaimed Bunge la Mwananchi President Calvince Okoth alias Gaucho on Wednesday, June 7 decried his support for the Finance Bill 2023, at the expense of Azimio la Umoja.

In an interview on TV47, Gaucho disclosed that he was against Azimio's move to reject the controversial Bill, stating that Parliament should pass it so that it teaches Kenyans a lesson ahead of the next general elections.

According to him, passing the Bill would serve as a tough lesson for Kenyans regarding their choice of leaders anytime they go to the polls.

“Azimio leaders are against the Bill, but I support it fully. When Kenyans suffer due to the bill, they will learn not to make the same mistake next time during elections.

“Kenyans accepted Ruto because he was a man of God and a prophet. Why would they reject his ideas now? Why would we reject a prophet?” he ridiculed.

The outspoken supporter of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga further declared that he was ready to meet President William Ruto for discussions regarding the welfare of youth from poor backgrounds, denying claims that he was a member of Azimio la Umoja Coalition despite actively participating in its demonstrations and protests.

He also steered clear of the Kenya Kwanza coalition, asserting that he was only leading the vulnerable Kenyans and youth. According to him, he worked with Azimio on the basis of a common vision for the people of Kenya but didn't join the coalition officially.

“When he (President Ruto) calls me, I will meet him because the Azimio leader is Raila Odinga. I am just the ghetto president and I represent the people living in the slums. I am neither in Kenya Kwanza nor Azimio,” he stated.

Gaucho however set tough conditions for the Head of State before accepting a meeting with him, in order to avert cases of leaders who self-sabotaged their professional careers by courting political leaders.

He urged for the meeting to be made an open forum to avoid controversies and demanded that President Ruto not use him for political gain.

“As long as he does not use the meeting for publicity as he has done with other politicians, I will have no problem.

“If he calls me, it should be something very open to the public because the people he surrounds himself with are controversial," he explained.

The youth leader expressed that he had tough questions he wanted to ask the President regarding the welfare of the youth, including matters of employment and taxation.

“He should give me room to criticise his work and not ask me to support him politically. I want to know why our people in the slums are still suffering and why the youth are not employed,” he added.

His remarks came days after he accused the Azimio leadership of abandoning him when he was arrested after the anti-government demos.

"When Maina Njenga is apprehended, close to four principals were there, but we are ignored and treated as second-class members when apprehended. It is really painful because we were the first to start this revolution,” Gaucho said on May 31.

Gaucho alongside Nuru Okanga as well as Charles Ooko MC Olondo who were reportedly arrested on Friday, March 24 were on Tuesday, March 28 set free on a cash bail of Ksh1,000 each.

Azimio's Movement for Defence of Democracy (MDD) had previously stated that police officers had arrested the trio without specifying any charges.