The verbal artillery between Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has escalated from policy disagreements to personal attacks on fitness for office. In his most scathing rebuke yet, Murkomen has accused the Deputy President of suffering from "policy incompetence" and masking his failures with tribal bigotry.

Speaking at a church fundraiser, Murkomen deconstructed Gachagua’s recent push for the "One Man, One Shilling" revenue formula. "When you cannot deliver roads or electricity to your people, you retreat to the tribe," Murkomen charged. "The Deputy President is using ethnicity as a shield for his inability to articulate a coherent national economic strategy."

"A Village Elder in a National Office"

The attack strikes at the heart of Gachagua’s political brand. By framing the DP as a "villager" overwhelmed by the demands of the presidency, Murkomen is echoing a narrative gaining traction within the President’s inner circle—that Gachagua is a liability to the administration’s national image.

"We are building a digital superhighway, and he is talking about coffee bushes in the 1980s," Murkomen quipped, drawing laughter from the crowd. "You cannot drive a modern government with a rearview mirror."

• The Tribal Card: Murkomen accused Gachagua of trying to incite the Mt Kenya region against the rest of the country. "He wants us to believe that only one tribe pays taxes. That is not just a lie; it is a threat to national cohesion," the CS warned.
• The Political Implication: Analysts view Murkomen as the President’s "attack dog," saying what Ruto cannot say publicly. The relentless dismantling of Gachagua suggests a coordinated effort to isolate him ahead of a potential reshuffle or the 2027 polls.

Gachagua's Defense

Allies of the DP have hit back, calling Murkomen a "arrogant tenderpreneur" who has lost touch with the grassroots. "Let them speak English in Nairobi," said Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga. "We speak the language of the shilling in the village." The war of words signifies a complete rupture in the Kenya Kwanza coalition, with the center fast giving way.