President William Ruto has hit back at former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua after Gachagua criticized the government for imposing a heavy tax burden on salaried Kenyans.
Speaking at Mandera Teachers Training College in Mandera County on Tuesday afternoon, Ruto condemned Gachagua for attempting to undermine the government’s efforts by creating divisions among Kenyans based on regional backgrounds and by misusing people’s payslips.
Ruto expressed his disappointment with his former deputy, calling him leaderless and without the moral authority or a clear plan to influence the decisions made by Kenyans.
The President also assured Kenyans that the government was determined to put an end to such harmful criticism, emphasizing that people like Gachagua would not have a place in the country’s political future.
“I want to assure you that those trying to divide us will fail. Right now, they’re trying to split us into groups based on where we come from – Mt. Kenya, Rift Valley – or whether we have payslips or not,” Ruto said.
“These people have no clear agenda, no ideas, and they are completely leaderless. They won’t succeed in dividing our nation, and they will fail,” he added with strong conviction.
Promoting unity among Kenyans, the President also announced that the discriminatory vetting process for citizens seeking identification cards in Northern Kenya would be abolished.
This process had made it seem like people from the region were not part of the larger Kenyan community when applying for IDs.
“I am going to put an end to the vetting process, which was unfair to the people of Northern Kenya. It made them feel like they were not fully Kenyan when they applied for their IDs,” Ruto said.
Meanwhile, Gachagua, in his recent remarks, accused Ruto’s administration of implementing harsh tax policies that were making life harder for many employed Kenyans.
Speaking from his Wamunyoro home in Kiambu County, Gachagua expressed concern over the increased deductions from salaries, which he believes have placed an unnecessary burden on the workforce.
During a live TikTok session, Gachagua promised to advocate for the removal of excessive taxes on citizens and assured Kenyans that he would work to address the issue.
The former Deputy President also mentioned that he planned to engage with young people, especially those active in the online space, to discuss ways to move forward and resolve the taxation issues.
“We want to restore the payslips because the government has interfered with them, and it has created problems for many Kenyans. By solving this, Kenyans will be able to go about their duties without unnecessary hindrances,” Gachagua stated.
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