KANU chairman Gideon Moi has fired back at President William Ruto in what has become one of the most explosive public exchanges between a sitting president and a political heavyweight in recent Kenyan history, and the threat he has put on the table has sent shockwaves across the country.
The war of words began when Ruto took to X on Wednesday and Thursday, accusing Gideon Moi of using his newspaper, The Standard, to run a sustained extortion campaign against his administration.
“GMoi, your STANDARD media’s 5 days a week EXTORTIONIST propaganda HEADLINES on me and my administration’s transformative track record will get you NOTHING and NOWHERE. BLACKMAIL to yield to your GREED? NEVER. Kenya belongs to all Kenyans, not you alone. Jaribu 8 days a week. Do your WORST,” Ruto wrote.
He went further, accusing the billionaire of hiding behind debt claims while forcing Standard Group employees to work for months without pay.
“Bro, the BILLIONAIRE you are, HIDING behind debts, forcing many months’ UNPAID labour slaving to defend your STANDARD headlines BOLD extortion GANGSTERISM driven by GREED, is HEARTLESS to loyal workers, INSULT to journalism and BETRAYAL to free media that STANDARD once belonged,” the President added.
Gideon Moi’s response was calm, measured, and far more dangerous than anything Ruto had thrown at him. Referring to the president by the nickname Kasongo, Moi told him to settle down and reminded him that The Standard had barely scratched the surface.
“Kasongo, why pick a fight with a media house? We haven’t exposed you. We have only reported promises made but not delivered to Kenyans. If you push us, we will produce a documentary on who killed George Ogolla, Raila Odinga, Johanna Ng’eno, and others not mentioned. Stay guided,” Gideon wrote.
The threat to produce a documentary on the deaths of three high-profile Kenyans has immediately captured the nation’s attention. Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga died last year after suffering a heart attack, while Chief of Defence Forces General George Ogolla and Emurua Dikirr MP Johanna Ng’eno both perished in separate plane crashes. All three deaths, while officially explained, have continued to fuel public speculation and unanswered questions in the minds of many Kenyans.
By invoking their names directly and suggesting that The Standard holds information about what truly happened, Gideon Moi has raised the stakes of this feud to an entirely different level. The message to Ruto was clear, simple and impossible to ignore. Back off, or face something far worse than bad headlines.
