Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has refuted claims of blackmailing President William Ruto for Sh10 billion.
In March, during a media engagement in Nyeri, Ruto said Gachagua blackmailed him and asked for Sh10 billion to allegedly help him shore up support in the Mt. Kenya region.
However, Gachagua said that he has enough money and did not have to ask for money from the President.
The former DP said the President had not spoken about the accusations of blackmail until he got to Mt. Kenya.
"I did not blackmail the President because if I did, it would have been accusation number one on my impeachment motion before Parliament; it did not appear anywhere. Blackmail is a criminal offence," Gachagua said during an interview at KTN on Monday evening.
"When he went to Western Kenya, he said he got rid of me because I was incompetent and tribal; he never told the people of Western Kenya that I asked him for Sh10 billion."
Gachagua said he accumulated his wealth from the vast business he has and does not need to ask anyone for financial assistance.
"I am not the kind of person to ask him for money, and he knows that because I am an astute businessman who has worked for many years and made my own money, and I was in the campaign on my own volition. The President did not force me to be in the camp. I spent my money because I knew it was the right thing to do. I made resources from friends," he said.
The former DP affirmed that he did not ask the president for money because he would have already spoken about it six months ago.
Gachagua's sentiments come days after the President concluded his five-day development tour of Mt. Kenya.
During the media engagement, Ruto explained that Gachagua told him to his face that unless he gave him the billions, he would move to force him into a single-term presidency.
"I sat down with Gachagua and told him, My friend, stop these fights. He came to me and said he would make me a one-term president and asked for Sh10 billion to go and prepare Mt. Kenya for me," Ruto said.
