By Nancy Oseur
A Facebook post posted on August 28, 2026, bore a graphic circulating on social media attributing a statement to former Kenyan Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, claiming that he was unwell and that President William Ruto’s government may have poisoned him while he was in Kenya.
The graphic reads:
“I am not feeling well! Kasongo might have succeeded to poison me when I was in Kenya using a very lethal gas but I thank God I am recuperating well here in USA. I will be back my dear Kenyans.”
The caption further claims that Gachagua travelled to the United States to recover after the alleged poisoning.
Background
Rigathi Gachagua deputised President William Ruto from September 2022 until his impeachment in October 2024, following a political fallout with President Ruto. Since leaving office, he has remained an active political figure and a critic of the government.
The claim about poisoning draws on an earlier allegation made by Gachagua. Shortly after his removal from office, he claimed that there had been attempts to poison him before the impeachment process. The latest claim emerged after Gachagua travelled to the United States on August 26, 2026. At the time of his departure, Gachagua said he was going to spend time with Kenyans in the diaspora and take a break to rest, meditate, pray, read and re-energise.
His activities in the US have also been publicly documented. Reports showed him spending time with his wife during the trip, rather than announcing that he was in the country for medical treatment.
Verification
Piga Firimbi searched for evidence that Gachagua made the statement attributed to him in the graphic.
No credible evidence was found that Gachagua said he had been poisoned with a “very lethal gas” or that he was recuperating in the US as a result.
Gachagua has continued to publicly engage Kenyans in the diaspora during his US trip, including sharing updates about his engagements. He has not publicly stated that he was unwell or that he travelled to the US to recover from poisoning.
The timing of the trip also contradicts the narrative presented in the graphic. Before leaving Kenya, Gachagua publicly explained that he planned to take a 10-day break and spend time with his wife before proceeding with diaspora engagements.
Piga Firimbi traced the claim to a Facebook page, Kenya News Flash, previously identified in our fact-checks as a source of fabricated quotes attributed to Kenyan public figures. Similar fabricated graphics have previously been used to attribute statements to Gachagua falsely.
Verdict
The graphic claiming that Rigathi Gachagua said President William Ruto’s government poisoned him and that he was recuperating in the United States is FALSE.
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