NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 16-Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has dismissed Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi’s argument that rising soft-drink consumption is a sign of improving household incomes, accusing the government of using misleading indicators to portray Kenya’s economy as healthy.
Gachagua said it was unreasonable to conclude that the economy was performing well simply because Kenyans were buying more sodas.
“I know these people are treating us like fools, saying that because people drink more soda, the economy is okay,” Gachagua said.
He spoke on Sunday during a church service at PCEA Rev. Samuel Marima Memorial Church in Gatundu South, Kiambu County, where he stepped up his criticism of President William Ruto’s administration and its handling of the economy.
Gachagua was responding to remarks made by Mbadi on August 12, when the Treasury CS cited increased consumption of soft drinks as evidence that some Kenyans had more disposable income.
“Soft drinks consumption has gone up in this country. Soft drink. Do you know what that tells you? Who takes sodas? Sodas people take when they have left a little more in their pockets,” Mbadi said.
The Treasury CS argued that increased demand for soft drinks could indicate that households had money remaining after meeting their basic needs, while maintaining that the government had made progress in stabilising an economy that was nearing a crisis when Kenya Kwanza took office.
“If it is the economy, actually we should be called to be celebrated. Some of us should be given awards in this country. Because we have removed Kenya to where it was almost tipping,” Mbadi said.
But Gachagua offered a different measure of the country’s economic health, telling the congregation that church offerings provided a better indication of how households were coping.
“If you want to know if the economy is doing well, ask the pastor about the offering; it will tell you how the economy is moving,” he said.
Gachagua argued that declining church offerings would demonstrate that households were struggling financially.
“This is because Christians love giving to God, but if they don’t have anything, they can’t do it. If you see the offering has gone down, know that the economy has collapsed,” he said.
The former Deputy President, who now leads the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP), accused the Ruto administration of failing to deliver on its promise to improve Kenyans’ economic fortunes.
“I have released a report on two years of Ruto: he has done nothing, zero,” Gachagua said.
He also accused the government of failing to improve living conditions, saying Kenyans were instead facing mounting economic pressures.
Gachagua’s criticism comes amid an increasingly heated political debate over whether improvements in selected economic indicators have translated into meaningful relief for ordinary households.
Mbadi has maintained that the government’s economic policies have helped stabilise the country and said critics were overlooking improvements made since the Kenya Kwanza administration came to power.
“The truth is most of these people are fighting Ruto on ethnic grounds. Not on the economy,” Mbadi said.
He also announced that the government plans to introduce a Bill in Parliament by the end of September aimed at providing relief to Kenyans.
“End of September, you will see a bill in Parliament. We are trying to manage, see how to give some relief to Kenyans,” Mbadi said.
The Treasury CS added that President Ruto’s commitment to provide relief would be implemented by his ministry.
“You think that promise by the President will not be acted on? Mbadi is going to implement it on behalf of the Government of Kenya and on behalf of President Ruto,” he said.
Gachagua, however, used his Gatundu address to broaden his attack beyond the economy, urging Kenyans to seek new leadership ahead of the 2027 General Election.
“Let us get in line. We look for new leadership that will fix our country and return it to where Uhuru Kenyatta left us,” he said.
