'You Did Not Make Me President': Ruto Fires Back at Gachagua in Escalating Feud

President William Ruto has told former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua that he did not make him president, delivering a pointed public rebuke of the Democracy for Citizens (DCP) party leader as their long-running feud continues to dominate politics in Kenya.

The president told Gachagua "You did not make me president," and went on to question the DCP leader's conduct, in remarks aimed at the heart of the former deputy president's central political claim — that he delivered the Mt. Kenya vote which handed Ruto the 2022 election victory.

Ruto and Gachagua were elected together in the August 2022 general election on the Kenya Kwanza alliance ticket, defeating Raila Odinga of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition. Ruto, who served as deputy president under Uhuru Kenyatta for ten years, took office as Kenya's fifth president in September 2022, with Gachagua, a former Mathira Member of Parliament, as his deputy.

Throughout their time in office, Gachagua claimed credit for mobilizing the Mt. Kenya region, which voted overwhelmingly for Kenya Kwanza, and styled himself as the community's political kingpin. Ruto's latest remark was a direct rejection of that narrative, with the president maintaining that his mandate came from voters across the country.

The relationship between the two men broke down in public during their first two years in power. Gachagua clashed with senior allies of the president over the distribution of government appointments and resources, and drew criticism for describing the government as a company whose shareholders were those who had voted for it.

The rift deepened in 2024, a year in which nationwide protests against proposed tax measures forced Ruto to withdraw the Finance Bill and reorganize his Cabinet. In October 2024, the National Assembly impeached Gachagua on charges that included gross violation of the Constitution, and the Senate upheld several of the counts, removing him from office and making him the first deputy president in Kenya's history to be ousted through impeachment.

Gachagua's court challenges against the removal failed, and Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki was sworn in as his replacement. The former deputy president then crossed into opposition politics.

In May 2025, Gachagua launched the Democracy for Citizens Party in Nairobi, presenting it as his vehicle for the August 2027 general election. He has since used the party to rally politicians opposed to Ruto, drawing notable support from the Mt. Kenya region, where dissatisfaction with the government has grown since the last election.

Gachagua has been among the most vocal critics of the Ruto administration, attacking it over the high cost of living, the treatment of government critics and what he describes as the neglect of communities that backed the president in 2022. Central to his message has been the claim that he was the architect of Ruto's victory and was repaid with betrayal.

It was that claim the president targeted with his remarks, while also questioning the conduct of the DCP leader, whose political activities have drawn growing attention as the country moves closer to the next general election.

The confrontation has played out at rallies, church functions and political gatherings across Kenya, with leaders allied to both men trading accusations in speeches and interviews. Politicians aligned with the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) have accused the former deputy president of divisive politics, accusations that echo some of the charges brought against him during the impeachment process, while Gachagua has dismissed his removal as politically motivated and accused the government of turning state institutions against its critics.

Gachagua has shared platforms with other opposition figures working to unseat Ruto, even as competition continues among the president's rivals over who will carry the opposition flag in 2027. His party has emerged as one of the formations seeking to consolidate that challenge.

Ruto and Gachagua campaigned as a joint ticket in 2022 and governed together for just over two years before the impeachment split their partnership. They now lead opposing political formations, with the president seeking a second term and his former deputy working to end his tenure at the next polls.