Gachagua Offers to Testify Before US Senate on Kenya’s Non-NATO Ally Status » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, AUG 10– Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua says he is ready to testify before the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations as it reviews Kenya’s designation as a major non-North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally.

The Committee, chaired by Idaho Senator James Risch, has proposed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 requiring a review of Kenya’s status within 90 days.

Kenya became the only Sub-Saharan African nation with MNNA status on June 24, 2024, a month after US President Joe Biden announced the designation in recognition of Nairobi’s willingness to lead a multinational security mission to Haiti. The status offers Kenya potential long-term access to US commercial defense solutions and elevated security cooperation.

Speaking during a media roundtable in Kansas as part of his US tour, Gachagua said he would support the Senate review and dared the Kenyan government to arrest him for calling on the US to investigate alleged police brutality, abductions, torture, and killings under President William Ruto’s administration.

“I’m not a leader who buys fear,” he said. “If the Americans want me to assist them with their investigations, I would, because that’s where the investigation is. I’m not part of any investigation on William Ruto by the Kenya Police.”

Gachagua was responding to remarks by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, who have demanded he provide evidence for his claims once back in Kenya.

Calls for the US to review Kenya’s MNNA status began in May 2025 after President Ruto’s remarks in Beijing were seen in Washington as a tilt towards China.

“Just last month, President Ruto declared that Kenya, a major non-NATO ally, and China are ‘co-architects of a new world order.’ That’s not just alignment with China; it’s allegiance,” Senator Risch told a Senate hearing on East Africa and the Horn of Africa on May 13. “It’s time to reassess our relationship with Kenya and others who forge tight bonds with China.”