Gachagua: Our aim is not to ruin Uhuru and Raila’s businesses, but end their monopoly
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has come out to defend the Kenya Kwanza administration’s new shift, which appears to be aimed at the business empires of his rivals Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga.
Speaking at a church service in Nairobi, Gachagua said that they were not out to destroy the families of the two leaders, but to end their monopoly and create a level playing field for all Kenyans.
“We have said that they have been selling us cylinders and gas at expensive prices and now we will bring in more people to end the monopoly, and it will remain that way,” he said.
He added that they had also challenged the dominance in the milk sector by bringing in more players to lower the prices.
“In the milk sector, we had one person controlling it. That’s why they did not want us in power. They wanted to continue exploiting Kenyans and enriching themselves,” he said.
President Ruto’s announcement of new gas cylinder prices capped at KES 300-500 for a 6 kg cylinder has been interpreted as a new strategy to destroy the business empires of his rival in the August 9 election, Raila Odinga.
Last week, President Ruto also announced the construction of a liquefied petroleum gas refueling plant.
The move, experts say, would have a significant impact on the dominance of East Africa Spectre Limited, which is linked to Odinga’s family.
Furthermore, Gachagua claimed in Eldoret on Friday that the challenges confronting the milk sector were the result of a monopoly held by one family, which he accused of buying out all milk companies in the country. The DP stated that this was part of the agricultural reforms he was leading, which included the dairy, coffee, and tea sub-sectors.
Brookside Dairies, the Kenyatta family’s signature milk processor, is known to be the market leader in milk processing and allied products in Kenya and the region.