NAIROBI, Kenya May 13 \u2013 Former Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has launched a sharp rebuttal against former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua following his criticism of the Africa Forward Summit 2026, accusing him of undermining Kenya\u2019s international reputation for political gain.<\/p>\n
Kuria said Gachagua\u2019s remarks on the continental summit reflected a lack of national interest, arguing that Kenya hosting a high-profile international event should be a source of pride for all leaders regardless of political affiliation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe may have our local differences, but for Kenya to host an event of this magnitude is something that all well-meaning Kenyans should be proud of,\u201d Kuria said.<\/p>\n
The former Cabinet Secretary further challenged Gachagua to demonstrate his own international diplomatic engagements since leaving office, questioning the former Deputy President\u2019s relationship with the global community.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy the way, I challenge Rigathi Gachagua to post even one photo of him meeting any diplomat as an opposition leader. Which opposition leader can go for almost two years without meeting the international community?\u201d Kuria posed.<\/p>\n
Kuria escalated his criticism by accusing Gachagua of pursuing divisive politics rather than national leadership.<\/p>\n
\u201cRigathi Gachagua will soon reveal his true self a village tyrant suicidally determined to lead a cult, not a nation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The remarks came after Gachagua on Tuesday launched a blistering attack on President William Ruto, accusing him of using the Africa Forward Summit 2026 to seek political legitimacy while presiding over what he described as a dictatorial administration.<\/p>\n
Gachagua also dragged French President Emmanuel Macron into the controversy, accusing him of being an accomplice in the alleged irregular payment of billions of shillings to French firms following the cancellation of the Rironi\u2013Mau Summit Road project.<\/p>\n
The former Deputy President claimed that French companies had initially secured a Sh159.27 billion contract for the highway project in September 2020 during former President Uhuru Kenyatta\u2019s administration, before the project was later cancelled by the Kenya Kwanza government prior to commencement.<\/p>\n
According to Gachagua, between Sh7.3 billion and Sh7.5 billion from the Fuel Levy Fund was later used to compensate the French firms after the cancellation of the contract.<\/p>\n
He further questioned the government\u2019s decision to later award the project to a Chinese contractor at what he termed a higher cost despite a reduced scope of work.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are public resources meant for Kenyans, yet they are being used in opaque arrangements that disadvantage citizens,\u201d Gachagua said.<\/p>\n
The former Deputy President also alleged that the Auditor General had flagged concerns over the compensation arrangement, although he did not provide documentary evidence to support the claims.<\/p>\n
\u201cWilliam Ruto is hosting African dictators. Africa Forward Summit is just a sideshow by Ruto,\u201d Gachagua claimed.<\/p>\n
He accusing the President of using international engagements to shield himself from growing domestic pressure.<\/p>\n
Gachagua directly implicated Macron in the matter, stating: \u201cMr Emmanuel Macron, you are an accomplice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gachagua\u2019s remarks came shortly after President Ruto and Macron presided over the signing of 11 bilateral agreements valued at approximately Sh150 billion covering infrastructure, transport and energy cooperation between Kenya and France.<\/p>\n
Among the key deals signed was a Sh104 billion agreement involving French logistics giant CMA CGM to renovate and expand sections of the Port of Mombasa.<\/p>\n
\u201cCMA CGM has agreed to renovate two terminals at the Mombasa Port at a total investment of 700 million euros,\u201d Macron announced during the summit.<\/p>\n
France also committed to expanding the Kipeto wind power project by an additional 100 megawatts at an estimated cost of Sh32.5 billion, with the overall investment package valued at nearly one billion euros.<\/p>\n
Gachagua further questioned a 2025 defence cooperation agreement between Kenya and France, saying it had generated concern among Kenyans.<\/p>\n
He linked demonstrations witnessed during Macron\u2019s visit to the University of Nairobi to broader frustrations over the cost of living, governance and management of public resources.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe message Kenyans were passing is about their daily struggles, school fees and livelihoods,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The former Deputy President also alleged that Kenya had become a global hub for abductions and human trafficking,citing cases involving Ugandan opposition politician Kizza Besigye, Turkish asylum seekers and Tanzanian journalist Maria Sarungi.<\/p>\n
He further accused the Kenyan government of involvement in instability across the Horn of Africa and called for intervention by the international community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thank the UN Secretary General for coming to Nairobi so that we address him from here on the danger that the Horn of Africa faces courtesy of his host, William Ruto,\u201d Gachagua said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr Guterres, be informed that President William Ruto is the greatest threat to Kenyan democracy and human rights violations,\u201d he added.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NAIROBI, Kenya May 13 \u2013 Former Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has launched a sharp rebuttal against former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua following his criticism of the Africa Forward Summit 2026, accusing him of undermining Kenya\u2019s international reputation for political gain. Kuria said Gachagua\u2019s remarks on the continental summit reflected a lack of national interest, arguing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-140889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140889\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}