By Anderson Ojwang
The Northern Kenya is turning out to be a crucial battle front for President William Ruto and the United Opposition, with former deputy President Rigathi Gachagua leading the onslaught on Ruto and the regional leaders.
For the second time in two months, Gachagua has come out gun blazing at the region’s governors and members of parliament for allegedly mismanaging billions of shillings earmarked for the region development.
He has accused the leaders for allegedly diverting the public funds to invest in Nairobi while the region wallow in abject poverty with no development to show for the billions disbursed to the area.
Yesterday, Gachagua trained his gun on President Ruto ahead of his visit to the region reminding him of the unfulfilled promises he pledged to the area and challenged him to them a reality.
Gachagua claimed the leaders from Northern region cannot account for Sh 1 trillion since the inception of devolution in 2013 and NGCDF and enjoy luxury in Nairobi while the residents continue to suffer from hunger and drought.
“The people of northern Kenya are Kenyans. Their hopes, struggles and shared aspirations are part of our shared destiny. A Kenya oppressed and neglected today is a warning to us all. We are one for all and all for one,” he said.
He said as President Ruto tours the Northern region he should address the emerging food and drought insecurities.
“We expect the president to address the water insecurity and food stress in the North, and from tomorrow disburse the Nyota cash in Wajir, Mandera and Garissa. This he should know, life is important and people are on the verge of hunger and death. In any case, the tour is to sensitise the corrupt leaders who have failed the people of northern Kenya,” he said.
Gachagua criticised President Ruto for turning the Nyota World Bank Project into a pre-election campaign tool.
The Northern woes
“Do not forget to tell the people of the North why only less than 35 percent have access to clean, safe drinking water compared to the national average of about 68 percent. In the North, over 850,000 school-going children did not attend school last year and the same this year. The schools in the North have no classrooms, no laboratories and no teachers,” he said.
Gachagua said the health situation in the North was worrying, with Mandera County recording that half of women give birth at home without a nurse or a doctor.
“Only six percent of children aged between 19 to 23 months are fully vaccinated. Garissa records the highest maternal deaths in the country, with 247 women per every 1,000 dying during childbirth,” he said.
He said in Wajir County, 90 percent of residents live in extreme poverty — the highest in the country — while Marsabit records 85 percent, and Isiolo and Garissa over 77 percent poverty levels.
The promises
Gachagua claimed that after President Ruto was elected, he made several promises to the region but never moved to make them a reality.
“On 25th November 2023 at Ngongalani Cultural Centre in Marsabit County while attending the Marsabit–Turkana Cultural Festival, you promised to connect the region to the electricity grid through the Lake Turkana Wind Power by the year 2024. We are now in 2026 and the status quo remains,” he claimed.
Gachagua said President Ruto also promised to construct power mains in the towns of Moyale, Marsabit and North Horr, but nothing has been done so far.
“As Ramadhan nears, give these people power. They do not need to cross to Somalia and Ethiopia for ice cubes,” he said.
He said the president promised that the Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs would immediately construct fish landing and processing zones in Turkana County, but three years down the line nothing has been done.
Gachagua said the president promised that Turkana University would be granted a charter by 2024 to become a fully fledged public university.
“Between 4th and 7th February 2025, you toured Mandera, Wajir, Isiolo and Marsabit counties and delivered a cocktail of promises once again. You promised to put Mandera on the national grid through Ethiopia, but today Mandera gets electricity on a ration basis once every 24 hours,” he said.
He said the president also promised to put 1.2 million acres of land in the Mandera Triangle along River Daua under irrigation, but to date no progress has been reported.
“While at Mandera Teachers College, you promised to support improvement of educational infrastructure and recruitment of teachers in Mandera and the North Eastern region. Which single school has been built since then?” he asked.
Gachagua said the president promised improvement of Mandera water and sanitation supply at a cost of Sh3.5 billion to benefit households, but the project remains a white elephant.
“While in Wajir town on February 5, 2025, you promised that your government would connect 20,000 households to electricity and rural electrification at a cost of Sh3.6 billion, and to date not a single home has been connected,” he claimed.
He accused President Ruto of promising the region several projects running into billions of shillings that have never been implemented, blaming them for the high poverty levels and water insecurity in the region.
North Eastern is turning out to be one of the key political battlegrounds ahead of the 2027 General Election, with Gachagua appearing keen on entrenching himself in the region.
Will President Ruto allow his impeached deputy to entrench himself in the region?
