Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has alleged that the late Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo was an expert in manipulating elections and was to be used to influence Kenya’s 2027 General Election.
Speaking to members of the Kenyan clergy and diaspora community in Boston, United States, on Sunday, October 4, 2026, Gachagua claimed President William Ruto had an arrangement involving Chivayo and election technology from a South Korean company.
Gachagua did not provide any documentary evidence to support the claims.
The allegations have not been independently verified.
“That guy is an expert in stealing elections, and he is the one who has been burglarising elections in Africa,”
Gachagua alleged during the engagement, in a video clip circulating online.
He further claimed: “He is the man he was to use to steal the vote.”
According to Gachagua, the alleged plan involved Chivayo acting as a local agent in an arrangement for the deployment of technology for the next election.
He claimed the technology was sourced from South Korea.
Citizen Digital and http://TUKO.co.ke, which reported on the remarks, noted that Gachagua offered no evidence and that the newsrooms could not independently verify the claims.
The remarks are the latest escalation in Gachagua’s sustained criticism of President Ruto since his impeachment as Deputy President in October 2024.
Gachagua, who is currently in the United States for a diaspora tour, has been campaigning on a message that Ruto should serve only one term.
Chivayo, 43, died alongside his wife Lucy Muteke, two pilots and one other passenger on September 30 when their helicopter crashed at Kudenga Farm in Marondera, about 70km east of Harare, Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwean police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi and government spokesperson Nick Mangwana confirmed there were no survivors.
Family spokesperson Herbert Chivayo confirmed the deaths to ZBC.
Chivayo was the founder of Intratrek Zimbabwe, a company that has handled major energy projects including the long-delayed 100MW Gwanda solar project.
He was known for his flamboyant lifestyle and close ties to political leaders across Africa, including in Zimbabwe, Eswatini and Kenya.
His business dealings had often attracted public scrutiny, though he had denied any wrongdoing.
In recent months, Chivayo had visited Kenya and met President Ruto at State House, Nairobi, photos of which he shared on his social media platforms.
Following his death, President Ruto mourned him, describing him in a condolence message as a “dear friend.”Gachagua, in the same address, made a separate set of unverified claims linking Chivayo to alleged money laundering for President Ruto, alleging the businessman was holding over Ksh1.5 trillion on the President’s behalf at the time of his death.
He again provided no evidence for those claims.
The former Deputy President also sought to pre-empt any attempt to link him to the helicopter crash.
“William Ruto, please don’t blame Riggy G. I didn’t kill this guy. I was in the United States.The accident happened in Zimbabwe. Surely, I have nothing to do with it,” he said.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is yet to comment on the election-rigging allegations.
The South Korean company mentioned by Gachagua has not been named in full, and no independent link between it and the Kenyan electoral process has been established.
As of Sunday evening, President Ruto and State House had not responded to Gachagua’s election-related claims.
