President Ruto has come out to address disquiet among Deputy President Gachagua’s followers over what they see as a deliberate and calculated scheme to set him up for political failure by allocating him difficult and sensitive assignments.
Speaking during a prayer session at Bomet’s Green Stadium today, President Ruto said Gachagua’s failure would automatically lead to his own failure.
Ruto said he gave DP Gachagua the job of streamlining coffee, tea and milk sectors because he knew he was capable and that his heart was for the small-scale farmers.
While urging DP Gachagua to move with speed and streamline the sectors, Ruto dismissed as propagandist those saying that he was setting up Gachagua for failure.
“The assignment of getting rid of thugs in the coffee, tea and milk sectors I have given it to the deputy president. I have given him because I know he is capable and can crush the cartels. Ignore the propaganda that I have given him the job as a trap so that he fails,” said Ruto.
He said the reason that some are opposed to the job assigned to the DP is because they know he will not entertain any jokes as he asked Gachagua to move with speed to deal with the cartels.
In the recent re-organisation of government through the Executive Order No 1 of 2023, President Ruto appeared to trim the influence of the DP’s office with a huge chunck of his duties being allocated to Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi.
Observers were quick to note while Musalia was given duties to “manage” cabinet secretaries DP Gachagua was given a more politically sensitive role of “managing” governors at a time when he had a public spat with Nairobi governor Johnstone Sakaja.
The President also added the responsibilities of streamlining coffee, tea and milk industries to Gachagua and immediately his followers read ulterior motives.
With successive governments unable to crush the entrenched coffee cartels and the expected low prices of coffee, his supporters thought the DP was being set up for failure should the reforms in the sector fail to produce desired results.
The comment by the President over the issue will only add fuel to the fire and the undercurrents already being felt with Musalia appearing to more pretty in government than Gachagua.
