Blame games have erupted within the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) following its narrow loss in the Mbeere North by-election, with aspirants accusing party leader Rigathi Gachagua and senior elected leaders aligned to him of sabotaging the campaign from within. Several aspirants now claim that the defeat was avoidable—and that the party’s own leadership is responsible.
According to multiple DCP aspirants who spoke on condition of anonymity, each was instructed to contribute KSh 400,000 to facilitate voter mobilization across all polling stations. The money was allegedly meant to fund a highly structured operation involving:
- 40 mobilizers per polling station (20 deployed to collect voters from their homes, 20 stationed around the polling area)
- 25 security personnel per station
- Each mobilizer stationed at the polling station was to receive KSh 20,000 which he or she would give Kshs. 1,000 “incentive” per voter brought to the booth by the other 20 agents collecting voters from home
- Two polling agents per station
In total, 67 people were assigned to every polling station—a workforce that, according to aspirants, “should have guaranteed at least 67 votes per station even before real voters were counted.”
However, aspirants say the KSh 400,000 they contributed for this elaborate ground operation was never released on polling day.
“The entire plan collapsed by morning,” one aspirant said. “Mobilizers, security teams, and agents had no money to work. We were left embarrassed and scrambling with our own cash.”
Several candidates report that they were forced to personally pay the 65 workers at least KSh 2,000 each, spending an extra KSh 130,000 per station—an expense they say was never planned for.
Some candidates allege that the funds were diverted to the chief agent and ward coordinating agents, many of whom were sitting MPs and senators close to Gachagua. Others strongly believe the money never reached the ground at all.
“This was internal sabotage,” another aspirant claimed. “How do you collect millions, fail to release the money, then expect victory? Some polling stations returned 20 to 40 votes—far less than the 67 votes from the paid teams alone.”
Many within DCP now argue that Gachagua may have intentionally undermined the party’s performance to prevent it from becoming a strong Mt Kenya competitor.
Their frustration comes as UDA’s Leonard Wamuthende was declared winner with 15,802 votes, narrowly defeating DCP’s Newton Kariuki, who got 15,308 votes.
Aspirants say the difference of 494 votes is proof that “the missing money cost them the seat.”
