Kenya's new Deputy President fires at outgoing President Kenyatta

By Our Correspondent, NAIROBI Kenya

Incoming Kenya’s Deputy President, Rigathi Gachagua has come out guns blazing at the outgoing government while giving his inauguration speech at the Kasarani grounds on Tuesday.

Shortly after being sworn in as Deputy President, Gachagua stood at the lectern and went gloves off at the outgoing President, Uhuru Kenyatta and his government saying the country is "finally free" and it is "finally a democratic country."

"I want to thank the people of Kenya for their resilience and determination for rejecting to be intimidated, coerced and saying that the will of the people is supreme in this republic," he said.

"Freedom is here with us I want to tell Kenyans that finally you are free and we are finally a democratic country, it became a crime in this country to become a friend of William Ruto it is only that it was not put in the penal code, from today I want to tell Kenyans that you are finally free and from now you don't have to talk on Whatsapp for fear of not being recorded by state agencies."

In a thinly veiled attack on Ex-president Uhuru Kenyatta, Gachagua said that the new government will work tirelessly to revive the "dilapidated economy" back to how it was during the late President Kibaki's exit from office.

He went on to add that the government is inheriting a demoralised country, citing the current skyrocketed debt ceiling and the unemployment state of Kenyans.

"The truth of the matter is that we have inherited a dilapidated economy that is facing almost an economic shutdown. We have a 10 trillion debt, 6 million Kenyans have no employment, 14 million are in CRB, we have a demoralized public service. It is your prayers that will help our president to put up a team that will take us back to where President Kibaki left us 10 years ago," Gachagua noted.

Gachagua maintained his bare-knuckle attack on the government, stating that the government will allow Kenyans to work without being harassed by state agencies and have access to trade avenues without their goods being torched by "over-zealous public servants."

"Once we fix this economy and create a working environment where ordinary Kenyans are allowed to work, where businessmen are not harassed by KRA, where goods belonging to Kenyans will never again be torched by over-zealous public servants, where poor people will never be evicted in brutal evictions by state agencies."