Gachagua: I Have Forgiven Police Officers Who Undressed Me Before My Children

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has said they will not punish those who were used by former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration to frustrate President Ruto and him in the run-up to the August elections.

Gachagua said Ruto and himself have decided to forgive their tormentors, including a group of police officers who allegedly undressed him during his arrest at his Nyeri home in July 2021 over graft allegations.

"Hata yule polisi Uhuru alituma kwangu hamsini wakanitoa nguo mbele ya watoto na bibi yangu nimewasamehe. Siku ingine musifanyie binadamu vile mumetufanyia, Mungu akiwapa nafasi ya kufanya,” he said.

The deputy president, who spoke during a thanksgiving service in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County on Sunday, said Kenyans need to embrace forgiveness to move forward.

"Because we are Christians, President William Ruto and I have forgiven everyone so that we can move forward as a country," he added.

Gachagua thanked the people of Uasin Gishu and the larger Rift Valley region for their entrusting the Kenya Kwanza alliance with the mandate to lead the country.

"Tunasema asante, mlitutendea wema. Mimi sina maneno ya kusema. Sijui nitasema nini. Hata Ruto akija hapo atashindwa kuongea," he said, adding that he sometimes finds it hard to believe he is the deputy president.

"With what had been planned, sometimes we still don't believe that Ruto is President, and I am the Deputy President," said Gachagua.