The political fracture within Kenya’s ruling elite has deepened after former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua publicly played an audio recording purportedly of Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi hurling insults and issuing explicit threats against him.

In a dramatic escalation of the bitter fallout that has completely shattered the original Kenya Kwanza alliance, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has turned a routine media engagement into a sensational political spectacle. Armed with digital evidence and characteristic defiance, the man who once commanded the second-highest office in the land has lifted the veil on the brutal, bare-knuckle infighting currently plaguing President William Ruto's inner circle.

The explosive revelation fundamentally alters the dynamics of the 2027 succession politics. By openly broadcasting the toxicity that defined his final months in power, Gachagua—who now helms the nascent Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP)—is aggressively positioning himself as the persecuted champion of truth against a deeply entrenched, hostile executive establishment. The resulting shockwaves threaten to further polarize the crucial voting blocs of the Mount Kenya and Rift Valley regions.

The Smoking Gun in the Rift Valley

The extraordinary episode unfolded on Friday, February 20, 2026, during a highly charged engagement with regional journalists in the Rift Valley. Gachagua, who has consistently fashioned himself as a radically honest politician unafraid to place all his cards on the table, was aggressively pressed by reporters to substantiate his previous, explosive allegations regarding high-level corruption and systematic public land grabbing by senior government officials.

When confronted by a journalist demanding proof of his claims that principal secretaries and the presidency were orchestrating night-time acquisitions of prime disputed land in areas such as Kibiko and Angata Barikoi, Gachagua executed a stunning pivot. Rather than directly addressing the land titles, he chose to expose the raw intimidation tactics utilized to silence him.

Reaching for his smartphone, the former DP played an incredibly hostile audio recording directly to the assembled press. The voice, which Gachagua adamantly claims belongs to the powerful Kapseret Member of Parliament and close presidential ally, Oscar Sudi, is heard unleashing a torrent of unprintable abuses and issuing thinly veiled threats against Gachagua's life and political career. The recording culminates with the ominous phrase, "Ni mzuri mjue" (It is good that you know), cementing the adversarial, irreconcilable nature of their relationship.

A War of Political Titans

The bad blood between Gachagua and Sudi is not a recent phenomenon; it is the culmination of months of public sparring over control of the national political narrative and the premature maneuvering for the 2032 presidential succession. The conflict reached a boiling point in mid-2024 when Gachagua explicitly warned Rift Valley leaders, particularly Sudi, against arrogantly meddling in the intricate, highly sensitive politics of the Mount Kenya region.

Sudi, notoriously unapologetic and fiercely protective of his proximity to State House, had previously dismissed Gachagua's authority with outright contempt. Following the former DP's warnings regarding unauthorized political fundraisers, Sudi famously retorted in public: "You cannot control where I go. If we all stayed in our respective constituencies, then we could not be in government. I am not someone you can threaten. I have been threatened enough and this does not move me."

The public airing of the derogatory recording serves several strategic objectives for the embattled former Deputy President as he attempts to consolidate his new political vehicle, the DCP:

• Vindication of Persecution: It provides tangible, undeniable proof of the immense hostility and disrespect he endured from junior leaders within the executive branch before his eventual ouster.
• Highlighting Executive Impunity: By spotlighting the aggressive conduct of leaders closely hovering around President Ruto, Gachagua is attempting to delegitimize the moral authority of the current administration.
• Galvanizing the Base: Exposing the insults hurled by a Rift Valley MP is a calculated move designed to evoke extreme sympathy and consolidate outrage among the crucial Mount Kenya electorate.

The Approaching Storm

As the audio clip rapidly circulates across Kenyan social media platforms, igniting fierce debates and drawing condemnations from civil society, the silence from State House remains deafening. The incident underscores a perilous reality for the ruling administration: the internal dissent that led to Gachagua's exit was not cleanly resolved, but merely displaced.

With Gachagua now untethered from the constraints of the presidency and actively weaponizing the secrets acquired during his tenure, the political arena is braced for unprecedented volatility. "The truth has a stubborn habit of revealing itself," Gachagua noted to the bewildered journalists, signaling that this audio leak may merely be the opening salvo in a protracted, incredibly destructive war of attrition ahead of the 2027 polls.