- Haji Replies Gachagua: “You Lied, We Have Damning Report Against You…”
By Abiola Olawale
Following the aftermath of the violent demonstrations that shook the streets of Kenya, Deputy President of Kenya, Rigathi Gachagua has attributed the violence and unrest to alleged intelligence shortcomings from the head of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) of the country, Noordin Haji.
The Kenyan Deputy President who held a press conference at his office in Mombasa, blamed Haji for allegedly failing to advise President William Ruto on the Kenyan citizens’ grievances about the Finances bill.
Gachagua who said the Intelligence boss should be held accountable for the protest also called for his immediate resignation over alleged negligence and failure to maintain utmost account to president William Ruto and the People of the Republic of Kenya.
According to him, Haji is an incompetent civil servant who misled Ruto with incorrect intelligence briefs.
He said: “It Is embarrassing to me as a Deputy President that it has taken protest, death, mayhem, and destruction for the president to know the truth. Yet, there is an organisation charged with this responsibility.
“I sympathise with President Ruto because this information was not available to him. We have an organisation paid by the public to give him and the government such information and that is where the problem is.
“We have a dysfunctional National Intelligence Service that has exposed the government and the people of Kenya. Had the National Intelligence Service briefed the president two months ago about how the people feel about the Finance bill, people wouldn’t have died, properties wouldn’t have been destroyed. There would have been no protests, but they slept on the job.”
Gachagua also alleged that he has been isolated within the Government for speaking the truth to civil servants, partly due to Haji’s briefings to Ruto.
He continued: “Haji was peddling lies and propaganda trying to implicate former president Uhuru and me that we are behind the chaos. Now …the president has admitted that it was because of the anger of the people.”
However, while reacting to the Deputy President’s comments, the NIS chief, in a statement criticized the deputy president for “damaging his reputation”.
Haji amaintained that his reports directly to Ruto, adding that Gachagua is only interested in the files because there are skeletons in his closet.
The statement which has been in the media space reads in part: “I have the utmost respect for the office of Deputy President, so I do not wish to be drawn into an altercation with the current holder,” Haji said.
“But since he has brought my reputation and that of the service into disrepute, I am constrained to state hereunder.
“The DP’s actions and words suggest that he has a personal interest in the intelligence briefs revolving around the protests. Could it be that he is worried that the NIS may have pinned responsibility at his doorstep?”
Addressing Gachagua’s comment about his previous role at the NIS, Haji corrected the record by stating, “I was Deputy Director at NIS when I was appointed DPP, not a ‘junior officer’ as alleged by the DP.”
He further accused Gachagua of harbouring bitterness over a recent removal of certain individuals from the NIS, whom he claimed were sabotaging Ruto’s administration.
Haji reportedly concluded his statement with strong words of caution, stating that the NIS has files and extensive information on the DP that are damaging. He said he was calling on the Deputy President to “shed off the DP tag so that this service can show him what a personal fight looks like.”
He reportedly affirmed that the NIS would not be swayed by Gachagua’s alleged attempts to manipulate intelligence for political gain.
He added:” We shall not fall prey to the DP’s tribal politics of division. Neither will we tailor our intelligence to fit into the DP’s power-hungry designs. Whatever his problems are, the NIS is not a party to them and he must carry his heavy cross.”
The New Diplomat reports this comes amid the recent violent protests that broke in Kenya over a controversial finance bill.
The citizens of Kenya had lamented the inclusion of a contentious tax hike clause in the proposed finance bill.
Reports claim that about 22 people reportedly lost their lives during the violent protest which erupted in the country.
