Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has taken a swipe at Rigathi Gachagua and his brand of politics as an opposition politician.
Speaking during a live TV interview on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, Mbadi remarked that unlike the current crop of opposition leaders, Raila Odinga had an independent economic council of advisors surrounding him.
“The difference between Raila Odinga as an opposition leader and these opposition leaders of today is that Raila had an economic council which was chaired by the current chairman of the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Nderitu Muriithi,” Mbadi said.
Raila’s Economic Council
“I was a member of that council and the five of us could sit down and help Raila. With Raila being an engineer, he understands very quickly. These other people talk numbers they do not even understand.”
“They should just constitute a small economic council and you don’t even have to pay to have them advise you so that when Mbadi brings about the budget policy statement, you talk from a point of information,” he added.
“Recently, I saw the former Deputy President saying that the Bomas of Kenya had been sold to a Turkish national. Two days before, I had just signed off a request to release Ksh4.5 billion from the Tourism Fund to develop that facility.”
Truthful man
“And then he says he was in the cabinet where that decision was made. Then you call yourself a truthful man? If you want to be truthful, then be truthful and if you want to be mischievous, then be mischievous,” the CS stated.
On Sunday, March 9, 2025, while attending a church service at the AIC Kitengela, Gachagua said that the government had hatched a plan to sell the Bomas of Kenya- a national heritage site- to a Turkish national.
“As we speak, Bomas of Kenya has been sold to a Turkish national,” Gachagua said.
“The Cabinet was informed, and I was the only one who opposed it. I stood firm and said this is a national heritage; we cannot sell it.”
During the address, Gachagua equally stated that various prison lands had been sold by the government and that Catholic and Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) churches built on the sold prison lands would be demolished.
Gachagua observed that the recent pact between Raila and Ruto was a sideshow meant to distract Kenyans from the real issues bedivilling the nation.
“Do not be concerned about what is happening. It is a distraction. They are called theatrics, meant to divert our focus,” he noted.
