Former Kenya Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has ruled out any political truce with President William Ruto, terming the idea of a handshake as “nonsense” and blaming it for weakening democracy and eroding oversight institutions in the country.
The DCP party leader said Kenya needs a strong and independent opposition to keep the government in check, arguing that the country’s democratic space had shrunk following the cooperation between the government and opposition leaders.
“The handshake process is nonsense. It is responsible for the erosion of our democracy. A good democracy needs government and opposition, because power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely,”
Gachagua accused the UDA regime of allegedly weakening independent institutions and centralising power around the presidency. According to the former Mathira MP, Parliament and other oversight institutions had failed to hold the Executive accountable.
“The National Assembly we have today is worse than the one we had during the one-party era,” he claimed.
He further argued that the opposition had become more vocal and energetic than during the era when veteran opposition leader, the late Raila Odinga, led resistance politics.
“To tell you the truth, we are giving him (Ruto) better opposition than Raila Odinga. Raila was a good opposition leader, but we have more energy and agility in articulating issues,” he said.
Gachagua also claimed that the Ruto administration has managed to neutralise political dissent by working with ODM and sidelining leaders within government who disagreed with him.
“By neutralising ODM and making sure he got rid of his deputy, who was level-headed and patriotic enough not to agree to things that are wrong, he now has room to do whatever he wants,” he said.
The former DP insisted he would not enter into any arrangement with the President in exchange for political favours, positions, or privileges.
“I don’t think the people of Kenya would ever forgive me if today I went and shook hands with William Ruto in exchange for money, positions, or privilege. We are the only remaining voice. The Senate has been captured, governors cannot speak, and Parliament is no longer dependent,” He said.
Gachagua was speaking on Wednesday during a podcast interview in the United Kingdom, where he is currently on a political tour
