Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has made shocking allegations that a former NIS official he employed was followed and shot by hired assassins. In an interview with Kikuyu vernacular stations, Gachagua stated that he had hired the dismissed NIS officer to assist in combating illicit brewing. He claimed that individuals attempting to intimidate him tracked the officer and shot him, with the bullet missing his head and striking his shoulder instead.
“So that they can sell me fear, as that officer was leaving his home in Kileleshwa, someone on a motorbike shot at him but the bullet missed his head and landed on his shoulder. He visited a Nairobi Hospital for one week where the bullet was removed,” Gachagua said.
Gachagua stated that the assassin has yet to be apprehended. He accused certain state agencies, particularly the NIS and DCI, of being used to target and intimidate him. In the same interview, he alleged that his phone calls, as well as those of his close associates, were being intercepted. “Every person I call has their conversations tapped and recorded, and then they are asked what they wanted from me, and I am the Deputy President,” he claimed.
Previously, Gachagua has criticized NIS Director Noordin Hajji for his complacency and for providing misleading information to President William Ruto, particularly during the nationwide protests against the unpopular Finance Bill 2024. He urged Hajji to resign, citing his failure to properly advise the president on the country’s direction. Gachagua argued that NIS is being poorly managed under Hajji, noting that key officials responsible for the operations of the intelligence service have been dismissed, leaving it a shadow of its former self.
