The DP accused Haji of failing in his duties to adequately advise the president on the Finance Bill 2024, which allegedly led to demonstrations across the country.  According to Gachagua, Haji’s intelligence reports could have prevented the widespread chaos and loss of lives witnessed on Tuesday and thus called for the DG to resign. 

In a statement on Thursday, Nassir questioned why the DP sought to settle personal scores with Haji in public and did not seek to solve matters of security behind closed doors. 

He reiterated that such utterances went against the oath that he took as Deputy President. 

“Kenyans watched in horror as young people were killed and others were abducted as they exercised their democratic rights.”

Nassir also criticised Gachagua for failing to take up responsibility for the Finance Bill 2024 as the DP chairs all cabinet sub-committees and is privy to matters concerning the government. 

The Mombasa governor noted that the DP could not have failed to read the mood of the public who had decried overtaxation by the current regime in the past months. 

“These unbecoming utterances go against the solemn oath that Mr. Gachagua took. It exposes our nation, the institution of the Presidency, and our security agencies to ridicule, ethnic division, and potential exploitation by our country's enemies,” Nassir pointed out. 

“At a time when the young generation has lost faith in the direction the country is moving, such remarks only serve to fuel confusion and public anger. It is regrettable that the Deputy President would casually discuss sensitive security matters in public instead of in the constitutional body - the National Security Council in which he is a member.”

Nassir reaffirmed that Gachagua’s choice to single out Haji for the protests was a weak attempt of creating a political scapegoat for internal differences within his political formation. 

“Mr. Gachagua cannot claim ignorance of the public mood regarding over-taxation when he was at the front leading this conversation until his recent political schism with his partners in the Kenya Kwanza Administration,” he added. 

“Kenyans need leadership. If there is one thing that our young people have shown the world, it is that common purpose can transcend narrow ethnic balkanization. We call upon the Deputy President to follow the lead of our young people and focus on issues rather than using this solemn moment in history to fight personal wars.”