Rigathi Gachagua Denies Funding Gen Z Protests, Blames Government for Violence
Rigathi Gachagua has refuted claims he funded the Gen Z protests, accusing the Kenya Kwanza government of failing to prevent violence and misleading the public.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has broken his silence on allegations that he sponsored the June 25 Gen Z protests that turned chaotic in multiple counties across Kenya.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with NTV, Gachagua dismissed the accusations as baseless and termed them deliberate misinformation propagated by the Kenya Kwanza government.
“It is playing around with the people of Kenya to imagine that Rigathi Gachagua or anybody else can coordinate activities in 26 counties at the same time,” he stated firmly.
Gachagua insisted that the youth-led demonstrations, which erupted nationwide to protest economic hardship and governance failures, did not require any political figure to bankroll them. He underscored the spontaneous nature of the movement, describing it as leaderless, tribeless, and unstructured.
While denying any involvement, Gachagua turned the spotlight on President William Ruto’s administration, questioning how the National Intelligence Service (NIS) failed to anticipate or prevent the protests if they were indeed funded.
“If they did not know, then they slept on the job; they are not supposed to be in the office. If they knew and did nothing about it, then again, they are guilty of failing to stop anarchy and violence,” he charged.
He further defended the Gen Z protesters, asserting that the violence and destruction of property witnessed during the demonstrations were the work of criminal gangs who infiltrated the peaceful crowds.
“From where I sit, the protests were very peaceful,” he added.
Gachagua went on to accuse police officers of enabling the chaos instead of protecting citizens and businesses.
“I’ve seen videos. Thugs caused mayhem as police watched. Some thugs even arrived in police vehicles. As we speak today, many protesters were arrested and others killed. Not a single goon was shot or arrested,” he claimed.
His comments have added fresh fuel to the ongoing debate over the government’s handling of the protests and its response to public dissent. The former Deputy President has called for transparency and accountability from security agencies, warning against scapegoating citizens exercising their democratic rights.