- Gachagua laid the blame at the feet of Haji saying he failed to act on his mandate.
- But in defence of Haji, Joho described Gachagua's statement as 'disturbing'.
Image: FILE
Former Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho has told off Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua over allegations he raised against National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director General Noordin Haji.
In a statement on Wednesday regarding the chaotic protests in the country, Gachagua laid the blame at the feet of Haji saying he failed to act on his mandate.
“We have a dysfunctional National Intelligence Service that has exposed the President, the government and the people of Kenya," he claimed.
The DP was addressing a press conference from Mombasa on Wednesday when he made the remarks.
But in defence of Haji, Joho described Gachagua's statement as 'disturbing'.
"Having listened keenly to the address by the Deputy President this evening, I find it disturbing that a leader of his stature would issue such statements at a time when the government needs to be seen to be pulling in one direction," Joho said in a statement on Wednesday.
"As a country, we find ourselves in a not-too-familiar territory and therefore it’s incumbent upon the leadership of the country to try and restore confidence in its citizens rather than apportioning blame for failures that should be collectively owned by them."
The DP had asked Haji to resign for failing on his mandate saying President William Ruto would not have found himself in the current situation if he had advised him accordingly.
“And I sympathise with my boss President William Ruto because this information was not available to him,” Gachagua said.
"Had the National Intelligence Service briefed the President two months ago about how the people feel about the Finance Bill, 2024, so many Kenyans would not have died, property would not have been destroyed, offices would not have been destroyed. There would have been no mayhem, but they slept on the job.”
But according to Joho, the DP should be the first to resign.
"I would therefore wish to see him lead by example by being the first to take responsibility and resign instead of asking for other peoples' resignations."