Kindiki can be dropped from Ruto's line-up, Kuria says Gachagua insensitive

Moses Kuria speaks as Deputy President Kithure Kindiki opened Kisumu West Huduma Centre at Ojola in Kisumu.[FILE,Standard] 

In a candid, wide-ranging interview at his home, former Public Service Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria, a man known as much for his sharp tongue as for his storied career, did not mince words.

The Gatundu South MP-turned-Cabinet Secretary, a graduate of the University of Nairobi with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Government and a former adviser to President Uhuru Kenyatta, turned his fire on former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, dissected the economic pressures facing Kenyans, and lifted the lid on the inner tensions within the Kenya Kwanza government.

On Gachagua, Kuria was scathing. “I think Gachagua will never recover from the shareholder talk. That was reckless talk,” he said.

“He never knows when to close his mouth or when to open it. He spoke ill of Raila when he was sick, then the unfortunate happened. He is very insensitive.”

The ex-CS, whose political journey spans two decades, said: “Gachagua is older than me. He is older than President Ruto. But when he opens his mouth, it’s like a teenager talking. Age sometimes doesn’t come with wisdom; Gachagua is a good example of that.”

New bogeyman

Yet, in a twist of political irony, Kuria believes ODM has a bright future precisely because of Gachagua.

“The party only needs Gachagua to be alive,” he said, a smile playing on his lips. “In politics, you need a bogeyman. Raila was a bogeyman in Central Kenya politics, where even a fourth-rate politician only needed to abuse Baba and he would be elected. Now, in ODM’s place, all they need is Gachagua. He is their common enemy, and that’s what will keep ODM alive.”

He stretched the analogy further: “Even for the church, you don’t need angels; you just need one demon. If there are no demons, the church loses its fight. Even those who contribute will no longer bring their money because there is no one to fight. Gachagua is the demon in ODM’s church. He made one part of Kenya feel like they are outsiders in the government, said they have no shares in the government. They will never forgive him.”

Turning to the economy, Kuria, who cut his teeth in public service as a Special Adviser on Fiscal Affairs, gave the Kenya Kwanza administration a mixed report card.

“I give them a C+ for stabilising the economy but a pathetic E because there is no money circulating,” he stated.

“There has been development, the brick-and-mortar stuff that we see. The infrastructure projects are there for people to see, they can touch them. But the real economy is what people feel in their pockets. Their pockets are empty. They don’t have money.”

Fiscal health

He reminisced about his advisory role under former President Uhuru Kenyatta.

“There was a time in December, before Christmas, I urged my friend Uhuru to pay all government contractors who were owed Sh5 million and below, and you could feel it immediately. There was a time we released a Sh60 billion bond and another Sh30 billion the government owed, and you could almost overnight feel the political temperatures drop. People had money in their pockets.”

He expressed concern for the nation’s fiscal health, a subject he has analysed since his university days.

“I feel so much sadness and pain for those who are angling to be president of Kenya. They don’t know what they are getting themselves into. Kenya is Sh1 trillion in debt. We are paying Sh750 billion in interest on domestic debt. This is the money we pay to banks. We are in a complicated financial situation, and it will need a lot of work to unravel the mess we are in.”

Kuria argued that had he still been an adviser to the President, his counsel would be clear.

“I would advise focusing on economic growth and giving attention to productive sectors of the economy like agriculture, which 40 per cent of Kenyans depend on. These mega projects being done by the government are laudable, but they are removing money from the economy; they aren’t injecting money into the economy.”

He warned of growing strain on formal employees.

“The housing levy, SHIF and PAYE are all being deducted from the payslip. How is that money coming back to this taxpayer? We need to balance how much the government is taking away and how much it’s giving back to the taxpayer.”

He singled out the Social Health Authority (SHA).

“Only three million Kenyans who have salaries are paying for SHA, yet SHA uptake is 28 million. So 25 million people are depending on three million people. That’s a strain on Kenyans with payslips because they are also paying other taxes. In the informal or jua kali sector, only 500,000 are paying for SHA. You see the strain Kenyans with payslips carry?”

He said the problem with SHIF and SHA is poor implementation, a flaw he sees mirrored in the broader Bottom-Up agenda he once championed.

“The President has wonderful plans, but there is no one to execute them. I am sorry to say this, but I was looking at some people in the Cabinet or some advisers and I see a level of ineptitude that was shocking. Some were clueless. Right now the President is talking about Singapore, yet some people around him who are to implement his agenda are letting him down big time.”

Kuria, who championed digital transformation in public service, applauded the e-procurement system but sounded an alarm.

“I applaud the e-procurement that the government has initiated, but I warn that as of this week, the uptake is only six per cent. This should worry the PS for Planning because I have even told him that the e-procurement thing will lead Kenya into a recession by early next year if it’s not sorted out. There is no bigger spender than the government, and if the government is not spending, there will be a recession in a few months. The e-procurement thing is a disaster waiting to happen.”

On the government’s overall performance, Kuria expressed sympathy for President Ruto, blaming those around him.

“The best scenario to describe the government is: what gets inspected gets done. Where there is no supervision, there is no action. When the President is looking into health, people in agriculture go on holiday. When he comes to look at agriculture, people in public service are sleeping.”

Reflecting on the 2022 political earthquake, Kuria noted: “The 2022 election was the first time in the history of Kenya that Central Kenya voted for a candidate who is not their own. We never voted for anyone who isn’t from the mountain. It was the first time, until all we did was undone by the foolish and reckless utterance by Gachagua saying Luos and others don’t have shares in the government.”

He advised his community: “This can only be undone when, in 2027, Central Kenya does not ask for anything in government, but just a stable economy so that they can do business, and hope Kenyans forgive them for the reckless remarks by Rigathi. It would be sad that for the first time the entire country is in government and Central Kenya is in opposition.”

Looking ahead to 2027, Kuria did not hesitate.

“There is a high chance Deputy President Kithure Kindiki can be dropped from President Ruto’s line-up,” he said bluntly. “Do you want the truth or the cousin of the truth? If you want the truth, then know politics is an investment. What is the return on investment on pairing with Kindiki? Ruto wants votes, and he will do what it takes to get votes. From anywhere in the country, where do you see Kindiki’s role in this? Hakuna!”

The conversation turned personal when discussing his feud with Gachagua.

“He was a new MP and I was a ranking member in the House. I held his hand and taught him everything on how the government works. Ask anyone — any road in Mathira was built using my influence, even the road that goes to his home.”

He said things took a turn when he fell ill and travelled abroad for treatment, only for Gachagua to campaign against him.

“I came back and all my friends were now my enemies. He knew I was popular, and that’s what he craved.”

He revealed that after the 2022 elections, even though he had been promised “something” by President Ruto, Gachagua came and told him that Ruto had refused to give him a Cabinet position.

“So the day I was appointed, I was shocked. A few days later, I went to see Ruto and thanked him for changing his mind. He was shocked. He said he had always wanted to appoint me. It is Rigathi who asked him not to appoint me. That’s the type of man Rigathi is. He blames everyone. He is the good one and everyone else is bad.”

Tyranny of money

The former CS added that even in the last by-elections in Mbeere North, his party’s candidate got 2,500 votes and Gachagua threatened him for splitting the vote.

“My candidate did well. On one side was Rigathi and his violence machine, and on the other side was tyranny of money. Rigathi’s candidate lost by 400. He came to blame me. He blames me for everything — even when his cow refuses artificial insemination, he blames me. I have a party, and my duty as party leader is to field candidates. Rigathi doesn’t want that. Kwani I started my own party so that I can run a butchery?”

Kuria revealed a crucial insight from the 2022 running mate selection.

“Before the 2022 elections, when Ruto was choosing a running mate, he primarily chose Rigathi because of his age. President Ruto felt that Mt Kenya people might not trust him if he chose someone younger. It would look like the younger person would be a stooge. So to appease Mount Kenya voters, he chose an older man. Unknown to him, the old man doesn’t act his age at all and talks recklessly like a teenager.”

He confirmed that his beef with Gachagua is, among other reasons, because the DP had a hand in his removal from the Cabinet.

“He told Ruto that he prefers anyone else from the mountain apart from Kuria. And there are so many dynamics for the President to consider.”

He ended with a reflection on his own evolution.

“Time has made me older and wiser. I haven’t abused anyone in a long time. I ran out of abuses. I am proud to say I am wiser right now, but I don’t know what the future holds for my political career.”