President William Ruto has brushed aside fresh accusations from his former deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, who told Meru residents the head of state is putting up a five-star hotel served by a taxpayer-funded highway.

Ruto, addressing a rally in Makutano on Saturday after the county’s annual dairy field day, said he is free to put his money anywhere in Kenya, Meru included.

“I also belong to Meru, and I will soon have a residence here, what will they do? Meru is part of Kenya. I heard them spreading propaganda that I have become an investor in Meru. If I decide to invest in Meru, what is the problem with that? We will build Meru, and there is no problem when I contribute to the growth of Meru,” he told the crowd.

Gachagua, now leading the Democracy for the Citizens Party, had toured the same county a day earlier. He urged locals to boycott the so-called “presidential hotel,” claiming public money was paving a private driveway while farm roads remain impassable.

“Instead of building us roads to take our farm produce to the factories and dairy, he’s building a road to his hotel,” Gachagua said.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki waded in, telling the president to invest even more boldly. “Mr President, if you got a place to invest in Meru, go ahead, and do it in other towns where you can,” he said.

The ex-Deputy President Gachagua continues to cast Ruto as an outsider who reneged on campaign promises, while Ruto’s allies dismiss the complaints as empty politicking two years before the 2027 race.