Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has sensationally linked French President Emmanuel Macron to the fallout surrounding the cancelled multi-billion-shilling Rironi-Mau Summit Road project, claiming Kenyan taxpayers may have lost up to Ksh7 billion in compensation payouts tied to the collapsed deal.
Speaking during a press briefing in Nairobi on Tuesday, May 12, the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader alleged that the controversial termination of the highway agreement involving French firms had exposed the country to massive financial liabilities.
The Rironi-Mau Summit Road project, one of Kenya’s most anticipated infrastructure upgrades, was designed to expand and modernise a critical section of the Nairobi-Nakuru highway corridor. The road serves as a key transport link connecting Nairobi to western Kenya and neighbouring East African states.
Initially unveiled in 2020 under a public-private partnership (PPP) model, the project had been awarded to a French consortium in a deal estimated at approximately Ksh159 billion. Government officials at the time defended the project as essential for easing traffic congestion, reducing accidents, and improving cargo movement along the Northern Corridor.
However, the agreement later ran into turbulence amid disputes over financing terms, tolling concerns, and rising public criticism regarding the overall cost of the project. The government eventually suspended and later cancelled the arrangement, opting to review alternative financing models and engage different contractors for sections of the broader corridor expansion programme.
Addressing journalists, Gachagua claimed the cancellation resulted in a costly settlement allegedly paid to the foreign companies involved.
“Mr Macron, you are an accomplice in the Ksh7 billion payout from the people of Kenya linked to the cancelled Rironi-Mau Summit Road contract,” Gachagua alleged.
The former Deputy President further suggested that Macron’s visit to Kenya for the Africa Forward Summit coincided with unresolved questions surrounding the terminated infrastructure deal.
His remarks came shortly after disruptions were witnessed during Macron’s address at the Africa Forward Summit held at Taifa Hall, University of Nairobi, where sections of the audience reportedly heckled and interrupted proceedings.
According to Gachagua, public anger over foreign-linked agreements and economic frustrations contributed to the hostile reception.
“That’s the reason why Kenyans were making noise to you not to leave our borders with this money, as we need it to pay fees. If Kenyans meet you elsewhere, they will make more noise,” he said.
The allegations have not been independently verified, and neither the Kenyan government nor the French delegation had publicly responded to the claims by Tuesday evening.
The remarks add to growing political tensions surrounding major infrastructure contracts signed under previous administrations, many of which have increasingly come under scrutiny over transparency, financing structures, and debt implications.
Gachagua also touched on separate governance disputes affecting parts of Meru County, alleging that unresolved land and ownership conflicts involving a disputed hotel property valued at Ksh64 million within the Meru National Park region could negatively affect public services and education programmes.
Meanwhile, tensions continued to simmer in Nairobi during the Africa Forward Summit after several protesters were reportedly arrested near the Kenyatta International Convention Centre while demonstrating against what they described as growing foreign influence in African economic affairs.
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