Gachagua positions DCP as Mt Kenya vehicle for 2027 power bid

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua at Wamunyoro when he hosted Wiper Patriotic Front leaders on August 18, 2026. [File Courtesy]

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and his allies have stepped up efforts to position the Democracy for Citizens party as the political vehicle through which the Mt Kenya region will approach the 2027 General Election.

The push was evident during Gachagua's political tour of Nyeri, where leaders supporting his presidential ambitions called for Mt Kenya to rally behind DCP, with some urging politicians in the region to abandon other parties and join the outfit.

Nyeri gubernatorial candidate Thuo Mathenge, who is seeking the seat on a DCP ticket, endorsed Gachagua as the “people's president” and challenged Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro to leave his party and join DCP.

 “Ndindi Nyoro should listen to the people of Mt Kenya and come back home. We are telling him that DCP is the political vehicle through which our region will go into the 2027 election. We do not want to divide our votes among many parties; we want to unite behind one party and one leader, Rigathi Gachagua. 

Kipipiri MP Wanjiku Muhia also declared that the region was united behind Gachagua, saying Mt Kenya had one party and one leader.

“The mountain is one and our party is DCP and we have one leader who is Rigathi Gachagua,” she said.

The declarations point to a strategy by Gachagua's camp to consolidate the region under one political party before using that base to negotiate or build a broader national alliance ahead of the 2027 presidential contest.

Gachagua told supporters that DCP would be the vehicle through which his camp would seek to form the next government, contrasting the party's current position with the political arrangement that took Mt Kenya into the 2022 election.

“We went to a coalition, but we don't have a party. Now we have our party DCP, which will help us form the next government,” he said.

Gachagua called on voters in Nyeri and the wider Mt Kenya region to support DCP candidates for elective positions in the 2027 election, while promising free and fair party nominations. He said the nominations would be held in March next year and pledged not to favour any candidate.

“To all those aspiring for elective positions on the DCP ticket, I want to assure you that next year we will conduct free, fair and transparent nominations. I will not favour anyone, and every candidate will have an equal opportunity to compete and seek the support of our party members,” he said.

The former DP also urged voters to remove leaders he accused of betraying the community by impeaching him.

 “Those who betrayed our community and participated in my impeachment should be judged by the people at the ballot. I am asking Kenyans to remember what they did and, come 2027, use their votes to remove leaders who turned against the interests of our people. We must vote for leaders who will stand with the community and defend its interests,” he said.

 Nyandarua Senator John Methu said Mt Kenya had faced political challenges after supporting Ruto in 2022 without having its own party.

“We as Mt Kenya have faced many challenges because we went to Ruto without our political party, but now we have our political party which is DCP,” Methu said.

Kiambu Senator Karungo wa Thang'wa reinforced the push for a single political vehicle, rejecting what he described as “wheelbarrow parties” in Mt Kenya and questioning the political record of leaders who, he claimed, failed to stand with the region during recent political challenges.

 ''We do not want wheelbarrow parties in Mt Kenya. Our region must have a strong political vehicle that can unite our people and protect our interests. We must stop dividing our votes among different parties and instead rally behind the DCP as we prepare for the 2027 election. And to those who abandoned Rigathi Gachagua when he needed them most, the people have not forgotten. In 2027, the voters will have an opportunity to decide who truly stood with them and who did not,” he said.

The effort to consolidate Mt Kenya behind DCP is, however, being accompanied by attempts to build support outside the region.

Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua called for Gachagua to work with Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka to pursue a common objective of ensuring Ruto serves only one term.

 “We want Rigathi Gachagua and Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka to work together so that we can build a broad national movement capable of ensuring William Ruto serves only one term. The people of Kenya want change, and our responsibility as leaders is to bring together communities that share the same vision instead of allowing our votes to remain divided,” he said.

Wambua's remarks introduce the possibility of a wider political arrangement linking Gachagua's Mt Kenya base with the Eastern region, at a time when politicians are already positioning themselves for the 2027 contest.

Gachagua said he had been reaching out to other communities and claimed that he had met Kamba leaders with whom he had agreed to work together and consolidate their votes. He further claimed that he had “united the whole of Kenya” and that Kenyans were calling for Ruto to serve only one term.

 “I have united Kenyans from different communities, and we have agreed that we must put our votes together. This is no longer about one community; it is about bringing Kenyans together so that we can build a government that listens to all of us and protects the interests of every Kenyan.” 

DCP Secretary-General and Nyandarua Senator John Methu said the party had detected growing opposition to President William Ruto during its countrywide mobilisation, claiming that Kenyans in different regions were calling for him to serve only one term. Methu said Mt Kenya had learnt a political lesson from the 2022 election, when the region supported Ruto without its own political party, leaving it without a dedicated vehicle to advance its interests.

 “We have gone all around this country and all of them are saying one term for President William Ruto and his regime. As Mt Kenya, we faced many challenges because we went to Ruto without our political party, but now we have our own political party, DCP,” Methu said.

Methu also turned his criticism to leaders who participated in Gachagua's impeachment, saying voters would have an opportunity to punish them at the ballot in 2027. He said Mathira residents would play a key role in supporting Gachagua's political comeback, while accusing some of his critics from the region of turning against the former deputy president.

“Ruto asked you to vote for him together with Gachagua as his deputy, but after Gachagua was impeached, the people of Mathira will help him send Ruto home. Rigathi has been respected by Kenyans, and those who have been insulting him, including some from his own area, should remember that the people will have the final say in 2027,” he said.

The one-term message was also echoed by Wiper deputy party leader Mohammed Ali, who said the Coast was backing the call for Ruto to serve one term.

 “The message from the Coast is clear: Kenyans want change and we are saying one term for President William Ruto. Those leaders who betrayed the interests of their communities should remember that the people have the power to hold them accountable at the ballot in 2027,'' he said.

Gachagua has presented his political mission in direct opposition to Ruto, declaring that he intends to defeat the President in next year's election. He accused Ruto of attempting to divide Mt Kenya politically and said the effort would fail.

 "Ruto is trying to divide the Mt Kenya region, but he will not succeed. That is why he is bringing these wheelbarrow parties into the region and supporting many presidential candidates, hoping they will split the Mt Kenya vote. But our people are united, and we will not allow anyone to divide our votes. We must remain together under one political vehicle and make our decision as a united region in 2027,” Gachagua said.

His allies have meanwhile sought to portray the former deputy president as a national figure rather than a regional politician. Mumias East MP Peter Salasya described Gachagua as a hero, while Ol Kalou MP Sammy Ngotho declared DCP to be their political party and Gachagua their leader ahead of the 2027 election.

Tetu MP Geoffrey Wandeto also backed Gachagua's political push against Ruto.