Gachagua blames Northern Kenya leaders over local media snub
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has accused leaders from Northern Kenya of intimidating journalists and attempting to sabotage a planned roundtable interview with him, claiming the move was driven by fear of the truth.
At the same time, the Northern Kenya local media, predominantly Somali language speaking native media houses have received backlash for what was termed as “stupid act of journalistic cowardice”.
Speaking after the interview was eventually aired online via North Eastern Digital Media, Gachagua said the leaders orchestrated a boycott that pressured radio stations in Mandera, Garissa, Marsabit, Wajir and Isiolo to withdraw from the engagement, despite earlier confirmations.
“They did everything possible to stop the interview from happening,” Gachagua said, adding that the intimidation of journalists undermined media freedom and public accountability.
“What a shame. I personally don’t agree with His Excellency Rigathi Gachagua on many things. I even believe he is tribal bigot. But in the last three weeks Gachagua brought to the fore a very important national question…corruption or theft by the political elites in NFD and low-quality leadership saddled with the people. The media cannot boycott him because they disagree with him. The media expresses an opinion only when rendering an editorial. This was a mere interview…a question-and-answer session. They should have interviewed him and asked him all the hard and difficult questions they had in mind. Boycotting Hon Gachagua by NFD media is stupid act of journalistic cowardice,” Senior Counsel Ahmednassir Abdullahi said on his X account.
Addressing accusations that he promotes tribal politics and marginalises Northern Kenya, Gachagua dismissed the claims as propaganda meant to sow division between Mt Kenya and Northern Kenya communities. He emphasised that the two regions have historically maintained strong ties, particularly through business and trade.
According to Gachagua, the real challenge facing Northern Kenya is not discrimination from the centre but corruption among a small group of leaders who claim to speak for the region while exploiting public resources.
“The people have no problem with me. Their problem is accountability from their leaders,” he said.
Gachagua revealed that since 2013, the five Northern Kenya counties have received more than Sh1 trillion in development funding, yet little meaningful progress is visible on the ground. He accused some regional leaders of diverting these funds for personal enrichment, leaving residents trapped in poverty.
On infrastructure and education, the former Deputy President argued that adequate resources exist to transform the region and bring it to par with other parts of the country. However, he blamed poor leadership for failure to utilise available funds, forcing students from Northern Kenya to compete for limited educational opportunities nationwide.
He further criticised leaders who, he said, thrive on victimhood narratives instead of addressing governance failures.
Gachagua concluded by calling for residents of Northern Kenya to demand accountability from their leaders, arguing that sustained underdevelopment is the result of leadership failure rather than ethnic marginalisation.
