DP Gachagua claims he has list of senior Gov't officials with 'River Road degrees'
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has claimed
to know the people who issue fake academic certificates at River Road and some
of the senior government officials who have benefitted from the illegal trade.
Gachagua,
who spoke on Wednesday during the third National Wage Bill Conference at the
Bomas of Kenya, divulged that some cartels in the business of issuing fake
academic documents had approached him as a potential client.
He
said the unnamed individuals revealed to him that they had been of service to many
government officials who needed the fake papers to secure employment in public
service on a whim.
These officials, the DP noted, are very well
known to his boss, President William Ruto, and he is willing to expose them to
him.
“Many
people in the government, Governors, heads of department, even some who are
sitting here with you, most of them their papers ziko na dosari,” he told the
President.
“These
people of River Road have been looking for me saying why are you, the deputy
president, complaining? Tumesaidia wengi, tumesaidia fulani, fulani na fulani…I
will give you the list which I was given of the people who have been helped.”
While
insisting that he had always turned down the offers, Gachagua however cited his
current educational background, reiterating that he feels lonely as most fellow
senior government officials including President Ruto have more than one degree
and higher education qualifications.
Nonetheless,
he reaffirmed that he is content with his level of education, and that’s why he
was adamant about taking the shortcut.
“When
I have been complaining that I am feeling lonely at the top because my boss has
three degrees, Controller of State House also three, and I have one,” Gachagua
noted.
“As
for me, I don’t care much about papers, because I don’t want to go to River
Road; I am satisfied with the little I have.”
The
DP thus expressed his commitment to the fight against fake academic
certificates, urging his boss to step up and make hard decisions to root out
all culprits in the public sector.
According
to the DP, the number of people with forged documents in government goes to
thousands and if weeded out, may save the country billions amid the ballooning
wage bill debate.
“This
issue of fake certificates, I think it is a quick win for us; if we make a
decision to get rid of all the fellows and characters with fake certificates,
probably we could knock 10,000 people from the wage bill and recover a billion
or two,” he noted.
“In
this matter of fake certificates, make hard decisions which will be beneficial
to this country and it will form part of your legacy.”
Gachagua
at the same time recalled the 2022 presidential race where President Ruto was selecting
a running mate and it came down to himself and Interior Cabinet Secretary Prof.
Kithure Kindiki as the last two candidates.
He
joked how some people were advising him to forge even a single Master’s degrees
to match up to his rival at the time, Prof. Kindiki, who many people had
purported to be the favourite candidate due to his education qualification.
Gachagua
lightly said he turned a deaf ear to the requests and instead, during his
interview, assured President Ruto of his commitment to help him in moving the
country forward if picked despite his academic status.
“As
you were looking for a running mate and it was me and Prof Kindiki who were on
the final shortlist, and my supporters were feeling probably I could be
disadvantaged because Kindiki was at the top...A lot of my supporters were
calling me telling me tunaeza panga haraka haraka ata kama ni ka Masters
utafutiwe ndio ufike pale," Gachagua explained.
"When
you called me to the interview and asked me about my education qualification, I
said I had one degree and you asked ata Master's hauna? I said just accept me
the way I am and I will struggle in the future."
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