Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has strongly condemned the remarks made by South African opposition leader Julius Malema regarding President William Ruto.
Malema, known for his fiery rhetoric, had expressed concerns about Ruto’s actions since taking office, suggesting that he had deviated from his campaign promises.
“I don’t know if President William Ruto means it because he said so many things and I cannot locate him these days because the things he said during elections and the things he is doing now are two different things,” said Malema.
“I don’t know, because I heard him saying we need to do away with the dollar and build our own but his actions are not speaking to anything of doing away with the dollar,” he said.
During a church service at St. Thomas Girls Secondary School in Kilifi, Gachagua took Malema to task for his interference in Kenya’s internal affairs. He described Malema as an outsider who should not presume to comment on Kenya’s political landscape.
“Someone has come from South Africa, someone who doesn’t know Kenya, just woke up this morning and started talking about Kenya’s affairs. This one is a busybody; he arrived in the morning, and by four o’clock, he knows about Kenya’s affairs like the back of his hand. Don’t you hear me? We want to tell visitors, when you come here, respect the leaders of the country you’ve visited,” Gachagua asserted.
The Deputy President further criticized Malema for failing to address the pressing issues in his own country, South Africa, which he perceived to be facing more significant challenges than Kenya.
He recalled observing power rationing lasting up to seven hours in South Africa during his last visit but chose to remain silent on the matter out of respect for the country’s sovereignty.
“We have visited other countries, and we go and sit down, and we cannot insult the president of another country. And we cannot interfere in their politics,” Gachagua stated.
“If you say things are bad there, what are you doing here? Over there, there is a power rationing of 7 hours, and we don’t talk about it because we respect them. Now, he has come here and become a busybody.”
Gachagua extended his message to tourists, advising them to focus on enjoying Kenya’s attractions and refrain from involving themselves in the country’s political affairs.
He emphasized that Kenyans do not meddle in the politics of other countries, and he urged South Africans to adopt a similar approach.
“We want to request our neighboring leaders; if you come to Kenya, visit the Coast, do your sunbathing, eat fish, go to Maasai Mara, see the animals, then get on your flights and go back to your countries. Leave matters here because when we come to your countries, we don’t talk about your affairs,” he remarked.
