This letter purporting that former Kenyan Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua resigned is FAKE.

The letter, dated 16 October 2024, is purportedly addressed to the country’s President William Ruto and allegedly signed by Gachagua.

The letter claims that Gachagua does not believe he will get a fair trial in the Senate or court. Therefore, he has chosen to resign to safeguard his 2027 ambitions to vie for a state office.

To validate the letter’s authenticity, PesaCheck reviewed Gachagua’s social media pages but did not come across such a letter.

The Office of the former Deputy President has equally not published such a letter on their official social media pages. Similarly, no credible media house has reported on the news of Gachagua’s resignation.

PesaCheck contacted the head of Deputy President Communication Service Njeri Rugene via WhatsApp, and she stamped the letter as fake.

The Public Communications Director of the Presidential Communication Service, Wanjohi Githae, also confirmed to PesaCheck in a WhatsApp message that the letter under investigation was fake.

The Kenyan Senate began Gachagua’s impeachment trial on 16 October 2024, after the High Court ruled that the proceedings were constitutional. Gachagua had filed a petition to stop the Senate from proceeding with the impeachment trial.

On 16 October 2024, Gachagua pleaded not guilty to the 11 charges leveled against him. On 17 October 2024, the Senate upheld the National Assembly’s decision to impeach Gachagua. Following the vote of no confidence by the two houses, President Ruto on 18 October 2024 nominated and forwarded the Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki’s name to the National Assembly for vetting as the next Deputy President. Though the National Assembly approved the nomination of Kindiki as the new DP on 18 October 2024, the High Court issued temporary orders stopping the replacement of Gachagua until 24 October 2024. A day later, the hearing was pushed forward to 22 October 2024.

PesaCheck has looked into the letter purporting that former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has resigned and finds it to be FAKE.

This post was first published on the PesaCheck website. It is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms.

By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms, third-party fact-checking organizations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. They do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds.

The post FAKE: This letter claiming ex-Kenyan Deputy President Gachagua resigned is fabricated appeared first on Woman Kenya Network.

This post on X(formerly Twitter) accompanied by a video claiming that Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua admitted to legislators being bribed with KSh 2m to pass the 2024 Finance Bill is false. 

The post, dated August 3, 2024,  reads: “Finally Riggy G confesses MPs were bribed 2mil…I’m here for such moments.” 

The accompanying video, originally uploaded on  TikTok, is titled “GLOVES OFF, GACHAGUA ACCUSES RUTO OF BRIBING MPS TO PASS FINANCE BILL.”

In the video, Deputy Gachagua is addressing a gathering and says: “Wakaongea wakasema basi mwambie Rais kama anataka tupitishe, sisi tunataka hongo, ya shilingi milioni mbili. Rais akakubali. Hiyo ni ufisadi ama si ufisadi?”

This translates to: “They spoke and said, then tell the President if he wants us to pass, we want a bribe of two million shillings. The President agreed. Is that corruption or not corruption?” 

The viral video was widely shared across X(formerly Twitter) on August 7, 2024, appearing on multiple accounts. 

Woman Kenya Network thoroughly investigated the keyframes using InVid-WeVerify through reverse image searches on Google, Yandex, Bing, and TinEye, but did not bear any fruit. 

A keyword search on YouTube led to a similar video posted on February 2, 2021, titled: “Smell of corruption-Rigathi Gachagua reveals secret behind MCA’s with 2 million car grant each.” 

To further authenticate the findings, a subsequent reverse image search of a screengrab from the video revealed that the video had been published on Facebook (archive link here) on January 31, 2021.  

A further keyword search uncovered the video was also published by Standard Media (archive link here) on February 1, 2021. 

In the video, Gachagua, the then Mathira Member of Parliament, accused President Uhuru Kenyatta of bribing Mount Kenya Members of County Assembly(MCAs) with 2 million car grants to pass the Building Bridges Initiative(BBI). 

Gachagua’s remarks came days after President Uhuru Kenyatta visited the region where in a meeting with the region’s leadership including MCAs, Kenyatta promised to push for a 2 million car grant each, if they would pass the BBI. 

Earlier in June 2024, Members of Parliament who voted in favor of the now withdrawn Finance Bill,2024, were accused of receiving a 2 million bribe beforehand. However, Juja MP George Koimburi, who initially made the accusations, publicly apologized during the July 23, 2024 parliamentary proceedings.

Later on June 29, 2024, Gachagua, also known as Riggy G, defended the legislators and dismissed bribery allegations, urging the public to respect their leaders.

Woman Kenya Network investigated the claim that the Deputy President admitted to MPs receiving a 2 million bribe to pass the Finance Bill 2024 and found it to be false. 

This fact-check was written by Woman Kenya Network fact-checker Trizah Mmwanda and edited by Woman Kenya Project lead Shadrack Agamira.

This fact-check was produced by Woman Kenya Network, under the African Fact-Checking Incubator program, with support from PesaCheck, Code for Africa’s fact-checking initiative, and the African Fact-Checking Alliance(AFCA).

Woman Kenya Network is a distinguished digital media company committed to advancing gender equality and promoting the equitable participation of women and girls in society.

Launched in 2018, Woman Kenya Network has grown into a fully-fledged digital media platform with a vibrant social media presence on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

Our platforms have become a trusted and reliable source of information on gender-sensitive content covering diverse thematic areas including Politics, Climate, Peace and Security, Gender Justice, Health, Economic Empowerment, and SRHR as guided by SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. We use the media to advocate for gender equality, promote just portrayal, and amplify women’s voices in society.

The post False: Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua did not admit to legislators being bribed with KSh 2m to pass the 2024  Finance Bill appeared first on Woman Kenya Network.