Rigathi Gachagua claims DCI insiders told him President Ruto directed the arrest of Auditor General Nancy Gathungu over her audit exposés. Read the full allegations.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has claimed that senior government figures are working to have Auditor General Nancy Gathungu arrested over the findings contained in her audit reports.
Speaking on Friday, July 31, during a meeting with Maasai leaders and supporters at his Wamunyoro residence, the DCP party leader said he had been tipped off by contacts within the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), who allegedly warned him that efforts were underway to build a case against the Auditor General.
"As we speak, sources today at the DCI have reached out to me and told me that Kasongo has said that the Auditor General Nancy Gathungu should be fished for evidence against her because she is bringing to light all that theft within the government," Gachagua claimed, using his nickname for President William Ruto.
He went further, alleging direct presidential involvement. "I have information that you have directed the DCI Director to look for grounds to have this woman arrested," he said.
According to Gachagua, Gathungu has fallen out of favour with senior officials because of audit reports and opinions her office has issued on the implementation of flagship Kenya Kwanza programmes.
He urged President Ruto to abandon what he described as the plan, and claimed some DCI officers were themselves uneasy with political interference in their work. He extended the claim further, alleging broader discontent within the civil service, the National Police Service and the National Intelligence Service (NIS).
None of Gachagua's claims could be independently verified. By the time of publication, neither the Office of the Auditor General, the DCI, nor the National Police Service had issued a response.
The allegations come a day after Gachagua claimed he had prior knowledge of the contents of President Ruto's State of the Nation Address before it was delivered — including, he said, a planned national vision initiative that Ruto later confirmed would open for public conversation on August 12.
Responding to that earlier claim, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen dismissed suggestions that Gachagua had accessed confidential government information. "I saw someone claiming that he had prior knowledge of what the President was going to say. I want to tell you that there is no secret about Kenya's future. The President had already met the technical team entrusted with this assignment, as well as Cabinet members, over the past few weeks," Murkomen said.
As of publication, Murkomen and other government officials had not responded specifically to the fresh claims regarding Gathungu.