Gachagua to Macron, Guterres: 'Your host Ruto is Kenya's greatest threat'

Democratic Change Party leader Rigathi Gachagua. [File, Standard]

Democratic Change Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua has dismissed the Africa Forward Summit as a political "sideshow," accusing President William Ruto of seeking international legitimacy while ignoring crises in healthcare, education and security.

Speaking at a press conference at the party's headquarters in Nairobi on Tuesday, as more than 30 heads of state convened at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) for the two-day summit co-hosted by Kenya and France, Gachagua turned the diplomatic moment against his former principal.

"The Africa Forward Summit happening in Nairobi is just a sideshow for Mr. William Ruto to hoodwink Kenyans on the matters that affect them," said Gachagua.

He directed his remarks at two of the summit's most prominent guests, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and French President Emmanuel Macron, telling them they were dining with what he called a human rights violator and a threat to regional stability.

"Mr. Guterres, yesterday you described the Sudan crisis as a nightmare and a carnage spiralling out of control. You called for immediate ceasefire. You were seated with the war commander and he hosted you to a state banquet yesternight," said Gachagua.

The former deputy president, impeached in 2024, accused Ruto's government of colluding with foreign governments to seize political dissidents on Kenyan soil, citing the abduction of Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye in Nairobi in November 2024 and the detention of Tanzanian journalist Maria Sarungi in January 2025 as examples.

He also told Macron that protesters who confronted the French president at the University of Nairobi's Taifa Hall were reacting to the alleged diversion of Sh7.3 billion from Kenya's Fuel Levy Fund to pay French firms following the cancellation of the Rironi-Mau Summit highway contract.

"The Auditor General has flagged the irregular diversion of approximately Sh7.3 billion to Sh7.5 billion from the Fuel Levy Fund, intended for road maintenance, to pay French firms for the cancellation of the Rironi-Mau Summit toll road contract," noted Gachagua.

He further tabled a list of 21 foreign nationals he claims were issued Kenyan diplomatic passports, among them Zimbabwean businessman Wicknel Chivayo and multiple Sudanese nationals, alleging the approvals were processed through a senior immigration official's office.

Gachagua also claimed over 1,000 Kenyans had been lured into fighting for Russia in the Ukraine war, with at least 19 deaths reported, accusing members of Ruto's cabinet of direct involvement.

The summit, the first Africa-France gathering held outside a Francophone country, saw Kenya and France sign 11 bilateral agreements covering transport, energy, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare and climate resilience.