{"id":148791,"date":"2026-08-03T12:03:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T12:03:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/gachagua-slams-kaguchia-arrest-accuses-state-of-political-persecution\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T12:03:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T12:03:08","slug":"gachagua-slams-kaguchia-arrest-accuses-state-of-political-persecution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/gachagua-slams-kaguchia-arrest-accuses-state-of-political-persecution\/","title":{"rendered":"Gachagua Slams Kaguchia Arrest, Accuses State of Political Persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 3 \u2013 Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has criticized the arrest of Mukurwe-ini MP John Kaguchia, accusing President William Ruto\u2019s administration of using the criminal justice system to target political opponents and suppress dissent.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a statement issued on Monday, Gachagua described Kaguchia\u2019s arrest as part of a broader pattern of selective law enforcement, arguing that the government was employing investigative agencies to settle political scores rather than uphold the rule of law.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe use of the criminal justice system to manage politics is synonymous with outgoing, cowardly regimes,\u201d Gachagua said.<\/p>\n

He claimed that selective application of the law would only deepen political divisions and fail to weaken the opposition, saying previous administrations had unsuccessfully employed similar tactics.<\/p>\n

According to Gachagua, the Jubilee administration under former President Uhuru Kenyatta frequently relied on arrests and criminal investigations to silence dissent and compel support for its preferred political agenda, but the strategy ultimately failed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Fourth Administration was notorious for using the criminal justice system to suppress dissent and force people to support an unpopular candidate. It didn\u2019t work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The former deputy president argued that repeated arrests of opposition figures had the unintended effect of increasing public sympathy for those targeted, saying political leaders facing prosecution often emerged with stronger public support.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more they did it, the more the people of Kenya became hardened and their resolve grew stronger,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Gachagua also drew parallels with President Ruto\u2019s own experience while serving as Deputy President, recalling that Ruto had publicly criticized the use of State agencies against his allies during the run-up to the 2022 General Election.<\/p>\n

He said many of Ruto\u2019s political allies who were arrested at the time gained national prominence and strengthened the Kenya Kwanza campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. William Ruto, then the Deputy President, wondered aloud how foolish the system was. His harassed foot soldiers became overnight celebrities and darlings of the people. This greatly strengthened his presidential bid,\u201d Gachagua said.<\/p>\n

He accused President Ruto of abandoning the principles he once championed, questioning why the Head of State was now presiding over what he termed a similar approach to handling political dissent.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs President, he is doing exactly what he said at the time was foolish. Has it suddenly become wise?\u201d Gachagua posed.<\/p>\n

He further questioned whether occupying the presidency fundamentally changes political leaders, saying the issue deserved closer public scrutiny.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am genuinely concerned about what happens to leaders, their thinking and reasoning, once they occupy State House. This requires serious interrogation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

On Kaguchia\u2019s arrest, Gachagua maintained that the move would only strengthen the opposition and elevate the Mukurwe-ini legislator\u2019s standing among supporters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe overnight harassment and early morning arrest of Hon. John Kaguchia only strengthen the resolve of our supporters and elevate his standing within our leadership hierarchy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Gachagua said lawyers representing Kaguchia were working to secure his release on bond ahead of his expected arraignment in court.<\/p>\n

Kaguchia was arrested on Monday shortly after leaving the Royal Media Services premises in Nairobi, where he had spent the night following an appearance on Inooro TV\u2019s Kiririmbi<\/em> programme. He was later taken to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations headquarters as opposition leaders demanded access to the legislator and called for due process to be observed.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 3 \u2013 Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has criticized the arrest of Mukurwe-ini MP John Kaguchia, accusing President William Ruto\u2019s administration of using the criminal justice system to target political opponents and suppress dissent. In a statement issued on Monday, Gachagua described Kaguchia\u2019s arrest as part of a broader pattern of selective […]<\/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-148791","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\/148791","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=148791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148791\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}