Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has made fresh allegations against the Kenya Kwanza government, accusing it of quietly transferring the ownership of critical national digital and financial platforms to private individuals shortly after President William Ruto took power.
In a bold statement, Gachagua revealed that platforms such as e-Citizen and Fuliza, which handle millions of shillings in transactions daily, are no longer under full government control but are now benefiting a few well-connected individuals.
According to Gachagua, this shift in ownership did not happen openly. He claims that shares were exchanged behind closed doors, and there was no transparency about who now owns what.
He further described the Ruto administration as transactional, alleging that it does not operate in the interest of the public. Instead, he says, it focuses on deals that enrich certain individuals within the government or those close to power.
“Shares exchanged hands when Ruto came to power. E-Citizen, Fuliza are now owned by private citizens. This is a transactional government. Anytime you pay something via e-Citizen, your money goes direct to State House and into people’s pockets,” Gachagua stated.
These revelations are particularly troubling given that e-Citizen is a crucial platform used by millions of Kenyans to access government services like passport applications, business registrations, and land searches.
The platform collects billions in public revenue, and there has always been an expectation that such money should go directly into government coffers for public use.
The same goes for Fuliza, a mobile overdraft service used by millions, which has also come under the spotlight following Gachagua’s claims. If these platforms are indeed in private hands, then it raises serious questions about who benefits from the revenue collected and how that money is accounted for.
Gachagua’s statement suggests that public revenue might be diverted to benefit individuals close to the presidency. This accusation, if true, confirms fears among many Kenyans that the country’s resources are being looted through legal and digital means.
It also puts pressure on President Ruto to come clean about who owns the platforms and how the revenues are being handled. Critics argue that this could explain why the cost of living continues to rise while public services remain poor, as money meant for the state could be enriching a few instead.
The former DP’s allegations come at a time when public trust in government institutions is already low, and Kenyans are demanding more accountability. If platforms like e-Citizen and Fuliza, which were initially meant to ease access to services and promote transparency, have now become tools for financial exploitation, then the public has every reason to be concerned.
Gachagua’s remarks could open a fresh wave of Kenyans to distance themselves from this platforms and public debates about how digital infrastructure is being managed and who really benefits from the billions flowing through these systems.
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