Moses Kuria discloses that he cautioned Ruto about the potential regret of selecting Rigathi Gachagua as deputy president, a decision that could have serious consequences. The former trade cabinet secretary just dropped a bombshell in fresh remarks, saying a group of them saw trouble ahead from day one and tried to speak up before the 2022 election deal was sealed.
“We told him he would regret it,” Kuria said plainly. He provided a detailed account of the events that transpired behind closed doors. President William Ruto sat with MPs from the Mount Kenya region and gave them a clear promise.
The deputy president slot was theirs, he said, and he would stay out of the way while they sorted it out. Plenty of those MPs walked straight into his office afterward. They laid out their worries. Rigathi Gachagua just didn’t feel right for the job.
“We told him he would regret it, that he is not good for the country, for the Mt Kenya region, or for him,” Kuria added. The words carry extra weight now. Back then the warnings stayed private. Today, the warnings are public, and many Kenyans are in agreement, recalling the events of the alliance.
Mount Kenya had thrown its weight behind Ruto in that election. The votes from the region played a crucial role in his victory. Picking a running mate from there made sense on paper.
It locked in loyalty and sent a message that the hustler government would listen to Central Kenya. However, the atmosphere in the room became tense as soon as Gachagua’s name was mentioned. Some MPs felt he carried too much baggage. Others worried his style would clash with the careful balancing act Ruto needed to keep the coalition steady.
Kuria didn’t hold back on the details. He described how the group pushed back hard. They argued the pick risked splitting the very support Ruto had just won. The president listened, according to Kuria, but went ahead anyway. The rest is history. Gachagua took the oath, the government started, and cracks began showing sooner than many expected.
Now the timing of Kuria’s comments has tongues wagging across the country. He spoke just days after fresh political chatter about past decisions and future alliances. Social media platforms lit up fast.
One side calls it brave honesty. Another perspective views it as a means of resolving past grievances. Either way, the clip of Kuria talking spread like wildfire on WhatsApp groups and X feeds. Ordinary Kenyans shared it with captions like “We told you so” or “Mt Kenya was right.”
It’s no secret Kenyan politics runs on quiet meetings and late-night warnings. This one stands out because it came from inside the circle that helped build the winning ticket.
Kuria himself sat in key government roles after the election. He watched the relationship between Ruto and Gachagua up close. Hearing him admit the discomfort now feels like someone finally saying out loud what many whispered for years.
The Mount Kenya region still matters a lot in national votes. Leaders there remember the promise Ruto made about hands-off selection. Some feel that trust got tested when tensions rose later in the term.
Others point out that deputy presidents always walk a tricky line. They need to support the boss while keeping their base happy. Gachagua tried to do both, and the results were mixed.
Kuria’s revelation also shines a light on how choices get made at the top. It wasn’t just one man deciding alone. Groups of MPs weighed in. Regional math got calculated. Age and optics played a part too. Yet the human side – the gut feeling that something felt off – got pushed aside. Now that same feeling is being aired publicly.
Ordinary citizens watching from home have their own take. Many in Mount Kenya villages still talk about the day Ruto picked his number two. Some say they celebrated then.
A few admit they had doubts but stayed quiet to keep peace. Today the story gives them something to chew on. “Maybe if they had listened, things would look different,” one farmer outside Nyeri told local radio yesterday.
The bigger picture for Kenya stays complicated. Alliances shift. Leaders rise and fall. Warnings like Kuria’s remind everyone that big decisions carry long shadows.
Ruto built a government on hustle and unity talk. Gachagua brought energy from his region. Whether the regret ever fully hit, only the men in that room could say for sure.
What comes next feels wide open. Kuria keeps speaking his mind. Other voices from that era may add their pieces soon. Kenyan politics rarely lets a story like this fade quietly. Supporters on every side scroll their phones, waiting to see who responds and how.
MPs didn’t just nod along. They pushed back. They spelt out the risks for the country, the region, and the president himself. History will judge how much those warnings mattered.
