I Did Not Sign For Rigathi Gachagua's Impeachment: Ruto
Ruto was cornered by journalists on the matter during a roundtable interview with vernacular stations from the Mt Kenya region ahead of his tour
Viral Tea Ke Writer 
President William Ruto has revealed that he did not append his signature that gave the green light for Members of Parliament (MPs) and the Senate to impeach Rigathi Gachagua as Deputy President in October 2024.
Ruto was cornered by journalists on the matter during a roundtable interview with vernacular stations from the Mt Kenya region ahead of his tour, speaking on the political turmoil that emerged after Gachagua was kicked out of office.
"Those who removed Rigathi Gachagua from office, there is nowhere I had put my signature for his impeachment, the law was followed, those who removed him from office did so," he revealed.
The Head of State, revealing little-known details that led to Gachagua's impeachment, accused the former second-in-command of clashing with the lawmakers in the National Assembly instead of helping him to serve the people of Kenya, as they were both elected to do.
Former Deputy President Rigath Gachagua during a church service at the Redeemed Church in Naivasha Town, Nakuru County on March 29, 2025. /RIGATHI GACHAGUA
"I’m the one who nominated Rigathi Gachagua with my one vote. After the elections, we started working, three things came out. The first, the issue of cases everyday. I asked him ‘you are a Deputy President, what is the reason for clashing with blogger Dennis Itumbi?’ The office PA, the young men of Ndindi Nyoro, Kimani Ichung’wah, I asked him what the reason was for these petty fights?" he posed.
"I told him (Rigathi Gachagua), let us work for Kenyans and leave these petty cases alone. There he was, starting fights with MPs who moved to impeach him in Parliament. ‘Before December, if you don’t go down on your knees for me, you’ll go home.' The MPs said that by December, we will deal with him. He was the one who started fighting with the MPs."
The President emphasized that Gachagua’s reluctance to support government projects further weakened their relationship, ultimately causing its collapse.
Additionally, the President faulted Gachagua for allegedly not supporting government projects, acknowledging that this contributed to their fallout. He also accused Gachagua of acting in bad faith by refusing to publicly defend the government.
"The Deputy President's main role is to help the President. When I was DP, the person to defend the programs like roads and hospitals. I went to more TV stations more times than the President himself because it is the DP's job to profile the President's work," Ruto observed.
"I told him, 'my brother, we have housing and UHC in our manifesto as well as Teachers' salaries and promotions. We made a commitment to the people of Kenya on housing and UHC to make sure we have a proper CBC model. If you cannot defend these projects, how are we going to run this government?" Ruto added.
At the peak of the feud between the President and his deputy, their allied Members of Parliament also clashed, with a faction within the Kenya Kwanza government initiating efforts to impeach the DP—an action Ruto claims he attempted to prevent twice.
Following the complete breakdown of their relationship, Ruto alleges that Gachagua threatened to make him a one-term president. According to Ruto, these threats further escalated tensions, intensifying the rivalry between Kenya Kwanza MPs and Gachagua's supporters in Parliament.
"Gachagua told me that I would be a one-term President if I did not meet certain conditions. He asked for Ksh 10 billion to talk to the Mt Kenya region,'' Ruto claimed, adding "I told him I would not do it. I told him if it's one term, it's okay if you're the one to decide. So the MPs started a war."
During the same interview, the President also dismissed Gachagua’s earlier claims from Monday, in which the former DP alleged that Ruto had no development projects in Mount Kenya. Ruto countered by listing several projects in the region, including a road he claims leads directly to Gachagua’s Wamunyoro residence.
