The gloves are officially off. In a blistering public rebuke that shreds any remaining pretense of civility, President William Ruto has declared that his former deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, lacks the "moral authority" to speak on government matters.

Speaking from the drought-stricken expanse of Mandera, the President did not just dismiss Gachagua’s recent criticisms; he launched a frontal assault on his track record.The trigger was Gachagua’s claim that the government’s Sh4 billion drought relief fund was insufficient and prone to theft. Ruto’s counter-attack was visceral, accusing Gachagua of incompetence and mismanagement during his own tenure coordinating relief efforts, effectively blaming him for the very systemic failures he now decries.

The Politics of Hunger

This spat is ugly because it uses the suffering of starving Kenyans as political ammunition. Ruto credited his new Deputy, Kithure Kindiki, with professionalizing the relief distribution that Gachagua allegedly "messed up." By framing the issue as a contrast between Kindiki’s competence and Gachagua’s chaos, the President is systematically dismantling the political legacy of his former running mate."We gave some people the job... they decided to trade in relief food," Ruto alleged—a grave accusation of corruption that borders on criminal negligence.

The backdrop of Mandera—a region historically marginalized and currently parched—amplified the gravity of the exchange. For the residents waiting for food aid, the political noise in Nairobi matters less than the maize in the store.

• The Gachagua Strategy: From his opposition perch, Gachagua is attempting to reinvent himself as the voice of the voiceless, attacking the administration’s soft underbelly: the economy and cost of living. Ruto’s strategy is to discredit the messenger before the message takes root.
• The Kindiki Era: The explicit praise for Kindiki serves a dual purpose: it boosts the new DP’s profile in the Mt. Kenya region and isolates Gachagua as a relic of a failed past.

No Way Back

This exchange confirms that the bridge between the President and his former deputy is not just agitated; it is incinerated. The accusations have moved from political differences to character assassination.

As the drought bites, the political temperature rises. In this war of attrition, there are no prisoners—only casualties.