Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua says remarks by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni over Uganda’s petroleum procurement arrangements have strengthened his previous criticism of Kenya’s Government-to-Government (G-to-G) fuel deal.

Speaking to Kenyans living in Kansas City on Friday, September 18, 2026, Gachagua said he had raised concerns about the arrangement after conducting what he described as his own due diligence.

His comments followed remarks by Museveni on Thursday, September 17, in which the Ugandan leader said a Kenyan senator had informed him that Uganda was sourcing petroleum products through middlemen in Kenya. Museveni said the information prompted him to question the arrangement.

Gachagua argued that Museveni’s concerns supported the issues he had previously raised about the Kenyan fuel deal.

The Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) leader alleged that the arrangement was part of a wider scheme involving major petroleum companies and claimed that Gulf Oil was being used as a proxy. He further alleged that the fuel business involved billions of dollars.

Gachagua also said Museveni had effectively been misled, although he acknowledged that the Ugandan president did not directly accuse President William Ruto of wrongdoing.

“He just fell short of naming his Kenyan counterpart,” Gachagua said, attributing Museveni’s restraint to diplomatic relations between Kenya and Uganda.

The former Deputy President also addressed criticism over how he could have been deceived while serving alongside Ruto in government.

He compared his experience to Museveni’s, noting that the Ugandan president has decades of political experience and came to power after a prolonged armed struggle.

Gachagua said Museveni’s questioning of the fuel procurement arrangement had helped ease his own concerns about having previously failed to detect what he described as problems within the deal.

He said the developments had left him feeling “vindicated” despite the criticism he has faced over his earlier position on the matter.