NAIROBI, Kenya — Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has publicly attributed his absence from the State funeral and burial of the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga to alleged security threats.
Speaking during an interview with iNooro TV on Sunday, the leader of the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) stated that he had already paid tribute to Odinga, describing him as “a very important state leader.”
Gachagua also expressed admiration for Odinga’s political resilience and the robust organizational structure of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party.
“I would like to create a strong political party like ODM, for 20 years ODM has been a great party, and I would like to make DCP stronger than ODM. Second, I said I admire the way Raila chose his political leaders with high experience to stand for his party and the house,” said the former Deputy President.
Allegations of planned attacks
Gachagua claimed he was fully prepared to attend the national funeral service at Nyayo National Stadium but received warnings of a plot to harm him.
He escalated his claims by alleging that certain individuals within the current government had previously planned his assassination and that earlier threats and attacks against him remain uninvestigated.
He detailed past alleged incidents:
“The government had sent some hitmen to Limuru to kill me, and until today, they have not been arrested. Ruto himself had sent some hitmen to kill me in PCA Mwiki in April. Also, on my arrival from the USA, I was beaten by hired men and police officers in civilian clothing,” he stated.
Gachagua claimed his decision to skip the funeral was based on advice from some police officers who warned that an attack on him could be orchestrated and then falsely blamed on people from the Nyanza region. He suggested this was intended to trigger animosity between the Gikuyu and Luo communities.
“Some police told me not to go because the government had planned to use some officers in civilian clothing to attack me, so that it may be said that people from the Nyanza region attacked me, so that the Gikuyu and Luos can be enemies,” the DCP leader stated.
He added that he canceled a planned visit to Bondo for the burial, claiming that senior government officials had arranged a similar plan to attack him there.
“I then said I would go to Bondo, and the official (PS Omolo) had arranged the same plan so that they could attack and kill me to trigger enmity between our communities. I know President Ruto’s administration very well, and I could not have allowed myself to fall into his trap,” he said.
Condemning ‘lies’ at the service
Gachagua further asserted that even without the security threats, he would have struggled to attend the ceremony due to what he perceived as falsehoods spoken during the funeral service.
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He claimed that President Ruto and other government officials feigned admiration for Odinga despite having previously been highly critical of him.
“Even if there were no threats, the lies told at the funeral State I couldn’t condone. Ruto was there pretending how Raila was good and crying, yet he used to tell us that Raila was a witch, and the nation’s problem, all lies,” he claimed.
He concluded by stating that the only person who spoke truthfully at the burial was Kalonzo Musyoka, who had worked closely with Odinga for 15 years.
