Nairobi News

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has explained the allocation of Sh1.59 billion to his office that came shortly after he was sworn into the office late last year.

Speaking in an interview with vernacular radio and TV stations on Friday, Mr Gachagua said his official residence is in a deplorable state.

Gachagua claimed the Deputy President’s Karen office and residence leaks when it rains and that the residence was in similar state during President William Ruto’s tenure as the Deputy President.

He also claimed that it was for that reason that President Ruto and his wife Rachael Ruto were forced to tenancy elsewhere.

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“The official residence and office of the DP in Karen is in a deplorable state. It leaks water when rain, toilets and the kitchen are just bad. William Ruto and his wife had to relocate to another rental house in the neighborhood,” Gachagua said.

The Deputy President said the Sh1.59 billion allocation for his office appears huge yet it is an accumulation of debts to renovate his official residence.

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“If I decide to relocate there, it has to be renovated. Nevertheless, it is not a must I stay there,” he said.

Before August 9 General Election, Gachagua went public with the matter while seeking to know why Dr Ruto never raised the issue of the state of his official residence.

“When I asked Ruto why he was quiet, he answered ‘I decided to embrace silence because I did not want issues’. The DP’s office during Jubilee government second term was denied funding. In fact, he revealed he footed bills such as staff’s salaries and food,” Gachagua explained at the time.

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