DCI warns Gachagua after Easter Sunday speech linking Ruto to Sh500m fuel exhibit

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has threatened to act against former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua after he used an Easter Sunday church service to allege that Sh500 million recovered from arrested energy officials had been handed directly to President William Ruto.

Gachagua made the claims on April 5, 2026, while speaking at AIPCA Gakoe Church in Gatundu North, Kiambu County.

He was addressing a congregation as part of Easter Sunday proceedings when he drew the president's name into the ongoing fuel procurement scandal that has gripped the country over the past week.

The scandal centres on the alleged manipulation of national fuel reserve data by senior officials in the energy sector.

Investigators say the officials falsified in-country fuel stock figures to manufacture an artificial shortage, which they then used to justify emergency imports outside the established Government-to-Government supply framework.

The procured fuel was brought in at inflated prices and was reportedly of substandard quality, in violation of procurement law.

Three officials have been arrested in connection with the scheme: former Petroleum Principal Secretary Mohamed Liban, Kenya Pipeline Company Managing Director Joe Sang, and Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority Director General Daniel Kiptoo Bargoria.

All three resigned from their positions following their arrest on April 2, ahead of a scheduled court appearance on April 7.

Gachagua, who leads the Democracy for the Citizens Party, argued that the officials were not corrupt but were instead being punished for resisting the G-to-G deal in order to source cheaper fuel for Kenyans.

He went further, alleging that the Sh500 million recovered from the officials' homes during the crackdown had been surrendered to Ruto.

The DCI flatly denied the claim.

"The allegations levelled against the DCI in the course of Rigathi Gachagua's speech are false, unfounded, and malicious," the agency said in a statement signed by Director of Liaison and Corporate Communications John Marete.

"Any exhibits, evidence, or information that has come to the attention of the DCI in relation to the matter in question is being handled strictly and professionally, as provided for in our Service Standing Orders and the laws of Kenya."

The agency added that it was reviewing the full content of Gachagua's speech, including remarks he made in the Gikuyu language, to determine whether any statements constituted hate speech, ethnic contempt, or incitement under the National Cohesion and Integration Act.

It warned that it would act without hesitation "irrespective of the status or position of any individual."

Gachagua responded to the threat by daring the DCI to arrest him, and said he would not be intimidated.

He told his supporters that before the agency came for him, it should first arrest and prosecute those he accused of attacking his political rallies at Limuru during a funeral, at Mwimbi PCEA Church, and at PCEA Kariobangi.

Gachagua's claims about the Sh500 million also ran into a separate contradiction from Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi, who stated that Stabex International, one of the companies Gachagua alleged was linked to Ruto, was not among the local oil marketers contracted to import fuel cargo into Kenya.

President Ruto, for his part, earlier broke his silence on the scandal and vowed that all officials found to have broken the law would face full accountability.