Didacus Malowa, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

- Former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua has made a bold declaration about President William Ruto’s leadership challenges.

The former second in command attributed his troubles to a haunting legacy linked to the deaths of Kenya’s Generation Z youth during the 2024 anti-government protests.

During his interview on Obinna TV on Friday, May 17, Gachagua said the president would “never have peace” because of the bloodshed of young demonstrators.

Gachagua claimed that this had had an unprecedented influence on Ruto's administration.

"I want to say this, and I want to be on record. The crisis that we face as a country, the challenges William Ruto faces as president, why nothing is working and everything is crumbling around him, is because the president is haunted by the blood of the Gen Z's, and he will never have peace. I want to say that on record. President William Ruto will never know peace because of the blood of the Gen Z children that he authorised to be shed," he stated.

At the core of Gachagua’s message was a passionate defence and endorsement of Kenya’s youth, specifically the politically active Generation Z, which comprises those born roughly between the mid-1990s and early 2010s.

According to him, this cohort is not only resolute and incorruptible but is also rapidly becoming a formidable political force that will decisively shape the country’s future.

Gachagua claimed that in his recent dealings with the young demographic, he had realised that most of them were registered as voters.

He highlighted the group's civic awareness, warning that they would change the country's political trajectory.

"Let me tell you, the Gen Z group is lethal. This group is not tribal, cannot be compromised, cannot be bribed KSh 200. I can tell you, the Gen Z wave is coming and it'll be huge," he declared.

Elsewhere, former chief justice David Maraga said Ruto was wrong to deny that enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings still occur in Kenya.

Maraga reportedly called the president’s claim, that all abducted people had been returned home and that such abuses would not recur, “unconscionable” and “deeply hurtful” to families still searching for loved ones.

He cited the case of Brian Odhiambo, who vanished after being abducted four months earlier, as proof that many relatives remain in pain and have yet to see justice.

Source: TUKO.co.ke