BBS Mall: Gachagua accused of fueling hatred against Kenyan Somalis

“Deranged and obsessed with Somaliphobia.” This is among of the reactions to the outrageous statements from the former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua who sensationally claimed that proceeds from the Minnesota fraud scheme were used to construct a shopping mall in Eastleigh.

In an apparent reference to BBS Mall, one of the biggest shopping complexes in Africa, Gachagua, who was speaking during a church service on Sunday at AIPCA Kiratina in Kiambu County, called on the United States to take action against the mall developers and the country’s leadership, whom he accused of having a hand in the money laundering scandal.

“That money was meant to help people living with disabilities. It was stolen, brought to Kenya, and invested in land, houses, and the construction of a mall in Eastleigh,” he claimed.

Gachagua, who is also the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader, dragged the United States into Kenya’s domestic politics, urging US President Donald Trump to conduct an operation in Kenya similar to the one carried out in Venezuela, which he said resulted in the capture of President Nicolas Maduro.

Gachagua speaks during a church service at his former official residency in Karen in 2024

The allegations, which did not come with an iota of evidence, were his latest salvo against Somalis, a community he appears to have an obsession with, going by his numerous loose-tongued tirades.

His remarks have drawn widespread condemnation, with leaders accusing him of recklessly targeting the Somali community through unsubstantiated allegations. His claims went contrary to established facts, including evidence that the planning and construction of BBS Mall began well before the COVID-19 pandemic—the period during which the Minnesota fraud scheme occurred.

The Minnesota case involved several organizations accused of diverting more than US$250 million in federal funds meant for child nutrition during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the case has, in some quarters in the US, been framed through an ethnic lens, rights advocates have consistently warned that focusing on ethnicity rather than individual culpability fuels discrimination and xenophobia.

Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi, who is also the Chairperson of the Council of Governors, described Gachagua’s remarks as dangerous and unfounded.

“Rigathi Gachagua has taken Somaliphobia to an unacceptable level. The US government can easily know and identify where those missing funds were invested. The owner of BBS Mall has been a serious businessman in this country way before President William Samoei Ruto came to power,” he said.

Echoing his comments, Kamukunji MP Yusuf Hassan condemned the allegations, describing them as inflammatory and unfairly targeting the Somali community and their businesses.

The MP said the choice to invest in Eastleigh by investors reflected their confidence in the business environment which have contributed to the growth in the national economy through creation of jobs and generating billions of shillings in tax revenue.

“Since its inception, the BBS Mall has raised the economic profile and reputation of our neighbourhood, our city and our country. It has become a source of pride and success to the people who call Eastleigh home—not only the Somalis but thousands of other people who share space with our neighbourhood,” he said.

While condemning his remarks as reckless, divisive and a threat to national unity, Wajir East Member of Parliament Aden Daud accused Gachagua of engaging in ethnic profiling by making unsubstantiated claims against the Somali community.

“These allegations amount to dangerous ethnic profiling and have no place in a democratic society governed by the rule of law,” the legislator said as he defended legitimate investments by Kenyans of Somali origin, saying they reflect entrepreneurship and contribution to national development,” he said.

Eldas MP Adan Keynan accused Gachagua of making malicious and ethnically inflammatory claims targeting lawful businesses. He called on the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) to urgently investigate the remarks and consider legal action over possible hate speech and ethnic incitement.

Former Mandera Senator Billow Kerrow also weighed in, saying the claims were reckless and tribal, warning that such rhetoric undermines national cohesion. “The man is demented and deranged. Is there no one to help him?” he asked.

In her reaction, Garissa County Woman Representative Edo Udgoon Siyad described Gachagua’s remarks as ethnic profiling, stating that Eastleigh’s malls and businesses were built over decades through hard work, partnerships, and legitimate remittances.

The government also reacted sharply, with Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade and Industry Lee Kinyanjui dismissing the remarks as retrogressive and dangerous.

“How can a leader seek to drag his own country into turmoil merely to settle personal scores?” the CS posed. “This brand of politics is retrogressive and dangerous. It reflects raw greed and naivety in handling matters that could have potentially catastrophic consequences,” he added.

The comments from the former Deputy President mirror his long-standing pattern of ethnic undertones directed at the Somali community

Soon after President William Ruto abolished the vetting requirement for Kenyan Somalis and other border communities, Gachagua came out to vehemently claiming that the policy was ill adviced asserting that Kenyan national IDs will be given to “terrorists”.

Gachagua went on to claim that removal of the vetting requirement is a “significant threat to national and global security” but confronted by Citizen TV Yvonne Okwara to substantiate his claims, he answer was “I don’t have to prove it.”

“He has profiled Kenyans Somalis not once, not twice, not thrice calling them terrorists,” said Mandera North MP, Bashir Abdullahi during a parliamentary debate in August last year.

In an interview last year, the former deputy president questioned the citizenship, loyalty, and economic role of Kenyan Somalis, remarks which Health Cabinet Secretary Adan Duale Duale described as reckless, misleading, and dangerous to national unity.

Social media reactions following the latest allegations by Rigathi Gachagua suggest that the remarks have intensified online hate, misinformation, and propaganda aimed at smearing the reputation of the Kenyan Somali community.