Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua has criticised President William Ruto over his ongoing tour of Bomet and Kericho counties, accusing the national government of failing to deliver development projects despite receiving strong electoral support from residents.
In a statement posted on his X account on Thursday, Gachagua claimed that Ruto’s visit had exposed what he described as the failure of the national government to fulfill its promises to the people of Bomet.
“Mr. William Ruto visited Bomet County yesterday to quell the public dissatisfaction that his lying and brutal regime had nothing for the residents and that he obtained their votes by false pretenses. His callous visit confirmed their case against him,” Gachagua said.
“The national government has done nothing for the people of Bomet County; just false promises. There was not a single new national government project he could launch, commission, or inspect.”
Gachagua also criticised Ruto over an emotional moment during the visit in which the President was seen shedding tears after encountering a young girl who was also crying.
In a widely shared video, the girl, who was visibly emotional, performed a poem for the President before Ruto became tearful as members of the crowd cheered.
Ruto was seen using a handkerchief to wipe his tears and those of the girl.
Gachagua questioned the President’s emotional response, arguing that the hardships affecting the girl and her family were partly the result of policies implemented by his administration.
“He only shed tears about a young girl crying over the hardships her mother is facing. But who has deliberately caused these troubles and pain? Who has caused the tears on the young girl? Isn’t it Mr. William Ruto?” Gachagua posed.
“So why was he crying pretentiously? Such tears will no longer move Kenyans into voting for the wrong person! Fix the country, Mr. William Ruto!”
The former Deputy President further claimed that Ruto had relied on county government projects to demonstrate development during his tour.
“To show a semblance of some development, he could only visit projects by the County Government, namely the County Assembly of Bomet and the Mother and Child Hospital, both projects of the county,” he said.
Gachagua also criticised the implementation of Economic Charters signed between the national government and counties, including Bomet and neighboring Kericho.
“The Economic Charters signed between him and the counties of Kericho and Bomet, like the rest of the counties, are gathering dust at the UDA headquarters and cannot be implemented in the remaining 11 months of his presidency,” he said.
Despite his criticism of the President’s development record, Gachagua acknowledged that residents of Bomet and Kericho received what he described as millions in handouts during Ruto’s tour.
“Nevertheless, the residents of Bomet and Kericho benefited from the millions of handouts unleashed to mobilize crowds to attend his meetings. However, by Olkalou standards, they were outright shortchanged,” he said.
