Rigathi Gachagua has quietly borrowed a strategy that has kept Raila Odinga politically powerful for decades—build a party not to win the presidency, but to negotiate with whoever does.
By forming the Democracy for Citizens Party, Gachagua has signaled that he’s not chasing State House; he’s building a political machine that can deliver numbers—and in Kenya, numbers talk louder than titles. Raila used ODM not just as a vehicle for elections but as a bargaining chip to secure influence, positions, funding, and business opportunities. Gachagua is walking that same path.
He has realized what Raila mastered long ago: you don’t need to be president to make money or wield power. With 20 governors, 100 MPs, 20 senators, and hundreds of MCAs under your wing, you can demand attention—and funding—from whoever forms government. You can cut deals at the national and county level. You can receive party funding, loyalty contributions, and broker business opportunities quietly.
That’s why Gachagua is fighting any political voice from Mt. Kenya with a party. Like Raila in Nyanza and Coast, he wants to be the sole political landlord of the region. He will brand others “Ruto sympathizers” to isolate them and monopolize political influence ahead of 2027.
And truthfully, he prefers Ruto to win—not out of loyalty, but because Ruto is a known dealer. A post-election negotiation with Ruto could earn Gachagua more than what he would get as a deputy.
He doesn’t want the hard work of governing—he wants the soft power of cutting deals from the outside. It worked for Raila. Gachagua is betting it will work for him too.
