NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 24 – Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has hit back at former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua over allegations that he failed to oppose orders to abduct, torture and kill young people during the 2024 Gen Z protests.Kindiki dismissed the claims as “petty lies” and accused Gachagua of attempting to rewrite events surrounding the government’s response to the protests, saying he was at the time preoccupied with fighting terrorism and banditry across the country.“Nobody will buy your petty lies. I told you I have been directed to kill people?” Kindiki said in a statement on his Facebook account.“I was too busy and focused during that time, handling the important national assignment of the fight against terrorists and bandits who had run amok with their brazen attacks on the people of Kenya. I had no time to engage you in your treasonous project. Nonsense upon stilts! Fake,” he added.The remarks followed claims by Gachagua that he had personally contacted Kindiki, then Interior Cabinet Secretary, after a National Security Council meeting to question the legality and morality of alleged instructions to deal harshly with young people participating in the anti-government protests.Speaking during a meeting with Gen Z representatives, Gachagua claimed he had challenged members of the security establishment to oppose what he described as orders to abduct, torture and, where necessary, kill protesters.He alleged that Kindiki acknowledged the actions would be wrong but declined to confront President William Ruto over the matter.“I called Professor Kindiki that’s why I have very little regard for that man, very little regard. I called him after the Security Council meeting,” Gachagua said.He claimed he asked Kindiki whether the actions being contemplated were “biblical” and consistent with the Constitution.“And he said, ‘No.’ Including abducting and killing young people, [if he] had refused the two of us probably those boys and girls would not have died if Kindiki had put his foot down,” Gachagua alleged.Gachagua further claimed that he urged Kindiki to confront Ruto over the alleged orders but that the then Interior CS declined.“I told Kindiki, ‘Please, let’s go and face this man and tell him this decision is wrong.’ He said no. So it happened,” he said.Fallout with RutoIn his account, Gachagua said his differences with Ruto deepened during the government’s handling of the Gen Z protests and the controversial Finance Bill 2024.He claimed he opposed the Finance Bill within Cabinet and warned Ruto that Kenyans would reject the legislation.“I opposed Finance Bill 2024, and I started telling MPs to listen to the ground. I told him: ‘This thing people cannot accept, and if you force it you’ll have egg on your face,’” Gachagua said.According to Gachagua, Ruto accused him of opposing the government from within.The Finance Bill was subsequently withdrawn after widespread protests, with demonstrations led largely by young Kenyans spreading across the country.Gachagua also recounted the events surrounding the deadly protests of June 25, 2024, saying he was angered by Ruto’s description of protesters as criminals and his warning that they would be “hunted like rats.”He said he subsequently held a press conference in Mombasa to distance himself from the government’s position.“I said, ‘I don’t agree with this decision. One, these young people are not criminals; they are my sons and daughters, and they have a legitimate concern and somebody should listen to them, and this is wrong,’” Gachagua said.He linked his decision to publicly oppose the government’s handling of the protests to his eventual removal from office.“The decision to start my impeachment started on that day. I stood with the young people of this country and I lost a job that I had looked for,” he said.The exchange comes against the backdrop of the 2024 Gen Z-led protests that began over the Finance Bill and evolved into a broader movement against the Ruto administration.Kindiki was serving as Interior Cabinet Secretary during the demonstrations before becoming Deputy President following Gachagua’s impeachment in October 2024.The Interior docket was at the centre of the government’s response to the protests, with security agencies coming under scrutiny over allegations of excessive use of force, abductions and unlawful arrests.Gachagua has repeatedly used his account of his time in government to portray himself as a leader who opposed the administration’s handling of the protests and subsequently paid the political price.He told the young people that he had chosen to sacrifice his position rather than remain silent.“I stood with our young people and I lost a job that I had looked for,” he said, urging Gen Z voters to support his political ambitions.Gachagua said his political agenda was centred on young people and rejected the notion that they should be treated merely as future leaders.“I am a very genuine believer, and that’s why I disagree with anybody who says ‘you are leaders of tomorrow.’ Anybody who tells you that, that is an insult. You are the leaders of today and tomorrow; you are the present and the future,” he said.