NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 12 — National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has challenged former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s assessment of President William Ruto’s four years in office, urging the media and the public to scrutinise political claims against verifiable data.
Mbadi was responding to Gachagua’s “Ruto at Four” address delivered on Tuesday, in which the former Deputy President criticised the Kenya Kwanza administration over the cost of living, taxation, government expenditure, public debt, insecurity and what he described as unfulfilled campaign promises.
Gachagua presented his address as an assessment of the administration’s performance, arguing that government policies had worsened economic pressure on households.
Mbadi, however, challenged the former Deputy President to identify which aspects of Ruto’s record he considered inaccurate, saying several of the indicators cited by the government could be independently verified.
“If I were you, you would have asked Rigathi what is not correct in the President’s speech,” Mbadi said.
The Treasury CS also challenged journalists to subject politicians to tougher questioning instead of allowing them to make claims without supporting evidence.
“Don’t let politicians go scot-free with mediocre reasonings and arguments. When I stand here, please ask me tough questions. And that calls for serious research,” he said.
Mbadi then cited a series of economic indicators which he said should be used to assess Gachagua’s criticism of the government.
On fertiliser prices, he questioned whether the cost had remained at the levels experienced previously, citing government data on its fertiliser programme.
He also challenged claims regarding food prices, particularly the cost of maize flour.
“Are you telling me that the price of unga now is 250, where it was in 2022? And the statistics are there. Is it not cheaper than 250?” he asked.
Mbadi pointed to the performance of the Kenyan shilling against the US dollar, asking whether the currency had not recovered to about Sh129.30 to the dollar.
He also cited the government’s fertiliser programme, saying 21.3 million bags had been distributed or disbursed, compared with 1.4 million previously.
The CS pointed to developments in the agriculture sector, including tea, coffee, sugar and edible-oil production, as evidence of what he described as progress under the current administration.
He said tea earnings had increased and questioned whether the revival of the coffee sector could be disputed.
Mbadi also cited the leasing of four national sugar factories and an increase in land under edible-oil production from 60,000 hectares to 115,000 hectares.
On public debt, Mbadi argued that Kenya’s debt-to-GDP ratio had fallen from 72 per cent in 2022 to 67 per cent.
He also defended the government’s handling of the country’s Eurobond obligations, recalling the period when the shilling weakened sharply and concerns were raised over Kenya’s ability to meet external debt obligations.
Mbadi said the government had met its Eurobond obligations and had also bought back a $900 million Eurobond due in May 2027, alongside the partial repurchase of another bond due in 2028.
The Treasury CS further pointed to reforms in the health sector, saying 32 million people had been registered under the Social Health Insurance Fund, compared with 28 million under the former National Hospital Insurance Fund.
He also cited milk production, saying Kenya produced 5.5 billion litres of milk in 2025.
Mbadi questioned whether Kenya’s dairy sector was still experiencing the challenges that farmers, particularly in Central Kenya, had raised during former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration.
He said the current situation should be assessed against measurable changes in production and farmers’ experiences.
Gachagua’s “Ruto at Four” assessment marked his latest direct criticism of the administration he served as Deputy President before his 2024 impeachment.
In his address, Gachagua accused Ruto of failing to honour key commitments made during the 2022 presidential campaign and blamed government policies for increasing the financial burden on households.
He called for measures including the suspension of the Affordable Housing Levy and changes to PAYE to increase workers’ disposable income.
The competing assessments come as political leaders and parties position themselves ahead of the 2027 General Election, with the performance of the Ruto administration expected to feature prominently in the campaign.
Mbadi said the debate over the government’s record should ultimately be determined by evidence and independently verifiable data rather than political assertions.
“If you don’t want to accept something, you will just say it is not true. And you also don’t have your data,” he said.
