Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has officially severed ties with the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), bringing to an end his turbulent political relationship with President William Ruto nearly six months after his ouster from government.
In a strongly worded letter addressed to the UDA secretary-general and later posted on his social media platforms Gachagua did not hold back, branding the ruling party a national disappointment and accusing it of betraying the very ideals it once championed.
“What we thought was a movement to uplift the common citizen has instead become a machine of deception,” he wrote. Gachagua claimed that UDA’s leadership had abandoned its promise of justice, prosperity, and reform, calling it a “retrogressive philosophy unfit to govern.”
Gachagua, who had campaigned alongside Ruto in 2022 under the banner of bottom-up economic transformation, was impeached on October 18, 2024, following a dramatic fallout with the president. The alliance that once symbolized hope for millions, he says, has collapsed under the weight of dishonesty and misgovernance.
“The party squandered a rare opportunity to steer Kenya forward economically, socially, and politically,” he stated, accusing President Ruto of misleading Kenyans with hollow promises. “We believed him when he spoke of peace, justice, and prosperity. But it was all built on falsehoods.”
He didn’t stop at political philosophy. Gachagua also tore into key policy areas particularly the contentious Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) and the new university funding model labeling them as chaotic and riddled with corruption. He also raised alarm over reports of abductions of critics, pointing to what he described as an authoritarian drift in Ruto’s administration.
“The current regime has become intolerant and dangerous. It stifles dissent, punishes opposing voices, and rules through fear,” he said.
As the political dust settles, Gachagua’s exit marks a deepening rift within Kenya’s ruling coalition and signals a potentially combative new phase in national politics.
