Mandera Senator Ali Roba/HANDOUT
Mandera Senator Ali Roba has faulted former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua over what he termed as engaging in ‘reckless’ ethnic politics and spreading unfounded allegations against legitimate
businesses.
In a statement responding to a circulating video, Roba
dismissed Gachagua’s remarks as misleading and harmful, saying they were not
grounded in evidence or legitimate political discourse.
“What we are witnessing is not a
political statement, but a public display of delusion and
reckless tribal whistling,” Roba said.
His remarks after the
ex-DP Gachagua onSunday alleged that some malls in Eastleigh were developed through illegal money from the US.
Gachagua, who spoke at the AIPCA church in Githunguri, Kiambu County, also claimed that the owners are connected to influential local politicians.
The senator claimed Gachagua is attempting to tarnish
businesses with verifiable and lawful sources of funding by linking them to
crimes committed in the United States by individuals with no connection to the
developments in question.
According to Roba, such claims ignore established systems of
accountability and oversight, particularly in the United States.
“In this clip, Rigathi Gachagua attempts to smear
legitimate businesses with transparent, traceable funding, while absurdly
linking them to crimes committed in the United States by entirely unrelated
criminals,” he said.
Roba rejected the notion that foreign institutions would
rely on political rhetoric rather than verifiable facts, audits, and
intelligence.
“The assumption seems to be that American institutions are
naïve enough to discard evidence, audits, and intelligence systems and instead
rely on the ethnic bitterness of a politician in political free fall,” he
added.
He further emphasised that the United States operates on
rigorous verification processes, not conspiracy theories or emotional
outbursts.
“America does not operate on conspiracy theories, tantrums,
or tribal resentment,” Roba said.
“American institutions verify facts before
drawing conclusions.”
The Mandera warned that such remarks risk reviving divisive ethnic
narratives that Kenya has repeatedly sought to overcome.
Roba also rejected claims that business relations between
communities are driven by ethnic hostility, pointing to Eastleigh as an example
of successful inter-community cooperation.
“The Kikuyu community has never had a problem doing business
with the Somali community,” he said.
“Eastleigh did not become a commercial powerhouse through
hatred, but it rose through trust, enterprise, and mutual benefit.”