State House Leaks-Gachagua's moles embarassing president Ruto

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has frequently pre-empted official state announcements, predicting President William Ruto's national addresses, leaking details regarding long-term policy targets, and countering specific executive messaging on public projects and security operations.

The repeated leaks are said be frustrating President Ruto’s handlers. Sources in the president’s circles say the mole feeding Gachagua is within their ranks.

On Thursday, Gachagua triggered a wave of speculation online after anticipating the substance of Ruto’s State of the Nation Address an hour before he delivered.

The Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) leader addressed Kenyans an hour before Ruto’s address at 7pm. He invited the media to pre-empt the President’s address where he said the President intended to launch a vision 2060 development blueprint.

Gachagua further told the pastors and their spouses drawn from the entire Mt Kenya region that Ruto also intended to appoint former President Uhuru Kenyatta to spearhead its implementation.

The President later announced that he has consulted former and current leaders before embarking on the blue print but did not specifically mention Uhuru Kenyatta’s name. Gachagua’s remarks about Vision 2060 and a supposed Uhuru Kenyatta appointment, however watered down the president’s Vision 2030 review pitch, sparking online banter.

“He has come up with a new con game tonight. He has arranged a state address tonight. Do you know what he is coming to do? To launch Kenya Vision 2060, to plan for Kenyans how they will live between now and 2060. He has already destroyed Vision 2030, and now wants to deceive Kenyans with Vision 2060," Gachagua told the gathering.

True to his word, when Ruto appeared from the State House, he reflected on the country’s Kenya's position four years to the horizon of Vision 2030, the blueprint established in 2008 under the late President Mwai Kibaki, and invited Kenyans into a national conversation he described as the most consequential since the 2010 Constitution.

He argued the country had failed to capitalize on three global waves of industrialization, drawing on GDP-per-capita comparisons with South Korea, China, Vietnam, Ghana and Zimbabwe.

The President acknowledged that while Vision 2030 had set an ambitious goal of transforming Kenya into an upper-middle-income country by 2030, the country remains off course to achieve that target.

"Vision 2030 set a target of Kenya becoming an upper-middle-income country by 2030. So far, we are off target. This is not a criticism of Vision 2030, nor is it a reason for disappointment; rather, it is an opportunity to learn from our successes proudly, reflect with honesty on where we have fallen short, and define together Kenya's next long-term vision," he said.

 Gachagua’s correct prediction revived other instances when he pre-emptied the government on various issues such as State-linked demonstrations, use of goons and armed men to disrupt political meetings, massive jump in pump prices and Ruto’s approach against protestors in June 2024.

 In April this year, Gachagua correctly predicted a massive jump in pump prices, warning that fuel would rise by over Sh40 while accusing Ruto’s demonstration of using foreign wars as justification to increase fuel prices for alleged personal gains.

As his predictions, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority on April 14, hiked diesel by Sh40.30 and super petrol by Sh28.69 per litre

On July 10, Gachagua claimed there was a plot by the State to cause political violence in Olkalou so as to cancel the by-election claiming the State had unleashed armed and hooded men who he claimed would disrupt the intended Linda Mwananchi rally saying the government had purposed to use the planned violence to force the IEBC to cancel the polls.

While the Linda Mwananchi leaders led by Muranga governor Irungu Kangata changed the venue of their political meeting from Olkalou to Nyahururu, chaos erupted during the rally held on July 12, when suspected goons with guns disrupted the rally  rally, throwing stones and causing injuries.

Several individuals sustained minor injuries including Murang'a Governor Irungu Kang'ata's driver who was reportedly hurt in the chest forcing leaders and supporters to flee from the rally.

During the voting day on July 16, Gachagua issued a press briefing at his Wamunyoro residence in Nyeri claiming that the government had deployed men wearing balaclavas to cause mayhem across the Constituency to disrupt the voting exercise after learning that the DCP candidate would win by 90 per cent.

He mentioned areas that were a target of the violence such as AC Comprehensive School, Munyeki, Huruma and Nyakiambi Primary schools.

An hour after Gachagua’s claims, masked men descended on the schools he mentioned and lobbied teargas to the unarmed and peaceful voters while they shot in the air.

On June 26, 2024, Gachagua, while still in office as the second in command addressed the nation at 5:30 before his boss who was to address the nation at 7pm where he openly condemned the violence and blamed the National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director-General Noordin Haji for intelligence failures that led to the unrest and loss of lives.

He accused Haji of failing to advise the president properly, saying, “He must take responsibility for failing the Kenyan nation and do the honorable thing by resigning.”

The President would later concede to public pressure and declined to sign the contentious 2024 Finance Bill while acknowledging the loud message delivered by the citizens of Kenya and emphasized listening to the people.

Questions have emerged as to who leaked the vital security and government information to Gachagua who is not part of the National Security committee and who is regarded as an outsider and who should not be getting government secrets.

In an interview with KTN last week, Gachagua revealed that 75% of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) supports him, alongside 90% of the police and the entire civil service.

While describing himself as a "smooth operator" who receives insider intelligence updates often before the President, Gachagua claimed public servants and security officers are unhappy with current government policies, such as deductions on payslips, and willingly share information with him.

“75 percent of NIS is with me, 90% of National Police Service is with me, the entire civil service is with me, because they are very unhappy about  the riding of payslip, the civil service, the private sector and all payslip holders are supporters of Riggy G.

He added “When Murkomen decided to wreak havoc on the mountain during the memorial of the Gen z protests on July 24, government insiders told me that he sent people to withdraw Sh200 million to fund violence in Nairobi and the mountain.”

He encouraged civil servants to continue leaking information to him saying he was a smooth operator who protects his sources and who gets information without exposing them.

“I have created enough mechanisms for people to reach me without coming to me directly, without people bagging phones, I have created all those systems because I’m a walking government operative, I have been in government for too long, I understand government more than Ruto, I know what is government,” he said.

Political analysts contend that Gachagua’s intelligence has become Ruto’s biggest political headache saying the President had a bigger problem and the Opposition and economic pressures as the steady flow of sensitive government information was a major blow to Ruto and the entire government.

According to Ngunjiri Muiruri, a political analyst, Gachagua’s accurate description of Ruto main theme alongside other government policies presented him as the agenda shaping politician a move Muiruri nots has ended up embarrassing the whole government.

“A presidential address is carefully crafted to control messaging, shape public perception, and set the political agenda. When a rival politician gains access to the content beforehand, the impact of the announcement is significantly diminished,’ Muiruri said.

He added “Whether these leaks originate from disgruntled officials, political sympathizers, or individuals unhappy with the direction of the administration is almost beside the point. The perception that confidential information can easily leave the corridors of power is damaging enough. It projects an image of a government struggling to maintain internal discipline and control over its own communications.”

According to Muiruri, access to confidential information gives Gachagua a political advantage as revealing information before government reinforces the narrative that he remains plugged into the system despite his fallout with the President a move that allows him to position himself as a political insider who knows what is happening behind closed doors, while simultaneously portraying the administration as vulnerable and divided.

“The longer this trend continues, the more it undermines confidence in the government's ability to protect its strategic plans. It also raises serious questions about loyalty within the administration. If intelligence agencies and senior officials are unable to identify the source of these leaks, then the problem may run far deeper than the State House is willing to admit,’ he said.

Pauline Njoroge, a former Jubilee Party National Executive Council member, said Gachagua’s access to private information should worry government insiders as they have witnessed the recklessness of those in authority.

“The gallant public servants are tired of the unprecedented misuse of power, the disregard for professional and technical advice and the discrimination that has crept into public service. We have not even begun to talk about what has happened to their payslips and overall welfare.

“When the very people tasked with implementing government policy lose confidence in those giving the orders, it is not difficult to understand why many would quietly resist from within, sabotage certain processes, leak information including the president’s speech and have no desire to see this administration secure another term to continue on the same path,” she added.

According to Gitile Naituli, the Professor of Leadership and Management at MultiMedia University, Gachagua had repeatedly demonstrated an unusual ability to shape the national conversation before the government itself did.

“The conversation begins where Gachagua started it. That is not an accident. It reflects an important principle of modern politics: whoever frames the debate forces everyone else to respond within that frame,’ he notes.

He added “This helps explain why Gachagua occupies a unique place in today's opposition. He is not necessarily the opposition's most polished communicator. He is not always its most conciliatory voice. Nor is he universally accepted as the easiest coalition partner.

Yet influence is not measured only by elegance of speech or breadth of popularity. It is also measured by one's ability to compel opponents to react. By that standard, Gachagua has become one of the most influential political actors in the country.”