Kenya’s Gachagua Tells Ruto to Drop ‘Anger’ and Tackle Cost-of-Living Unrest

Former Kenyan deputy president Rigathi Gachagua publicly rebuked President William Ruto on Wednesday, urging him to “stop being angry” and respond instead to mounting public discontent over rising living costs and alleged abuses by the security forces. Speaking at his Karen residence shortly after Ruto warned unnamed rivals against attempts to oust him, Gachagua said Kenyans were angrier than the president because of high taxes, corruption and extrajudicial killings. Gachagua dismissed Ruto’s suggestion that political figures were plotting a coup, calling the claim a diversion that could be used to justify the persecution of critics under anti-terrorism laws. “No one wants to overthrow your government outside the ballot,” he said, adding that the president should scrap the housing levy, ease the tax burden on the middle class and halt the profiling of the Kikuyu community. The exchange comes amid months of youth-led demonstrations that have drawn a heavy police response, resulting in deaths, injuries and alleged abductions. Protesters say the government’s tax policies, introduced after Ruto took office in 2022, have squeezed households and businesses. Gachagua, who was impeached last October after falling out with the president, said Ruto risks further unrest if he continues to ignore grievances and rule “through anger rather than dialogue.”