President William Ruto’s political fallout with his former Deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, has escalated into a personal feud, drawing parallels to Ruto’s bitter split with former President Uhuru Kenyatta, which also descended into personal and even family-level animosity.

Last week, President Ruto publicly lashed out at Gachagua over claims that the government had allegedly procured a State-sponsored militia to collaborate with police and other security agencies to maim, kill and destroy property—blaming the violence on the Kikuyu community and certain leaders perceived to be hostile to the Kenya Kwanza administration.