Rigathi Gachagua has finally completed the transformation of the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) into what it always truly was a narrow ethnic vehicle serving Mt Kenya interests under the guise of national opposition.
The reported 48-hour eviction notice served on Cleophas Malala, the party’s Luhya deputy leader, is not just an internal power struggle.
It is the final unmasking. Malala’s crime? Questioning the unilateral appointment of Nyandarua Senator John Methu as Secretary General a decision he learned about on television like any ordinary Kenyan. His broader concern about the overwhelming Kikuyu dominance in key positions (Party Leader, Organising Secretary, Elections Director, Youth Leader, and over 70% of senior officials) was met with blunt dismissal: go find a Luhya party.
This is the same Rigathi Gachagua who loudly accuses others of tribal exclusion while systematically purging any voice that challenges his ethnic monopoly. When a Western Kenya ally pointed out that DCP had become solely about defending Mt Kenya, Gachagua scolded him and withdrew his respect. Now the same complaint has come from within his own party leadership.
Malala’s impending exit removes the last credible multi-ethnic facade. What remains is an openly Kikuyu centric outfit driven by one man’s ego and grievance. A party that cannot accommodate a senior Luhya figure at the top table has no hope of building the national coalition needed to challenge for power in 2027.
Gachagua’s DCP was never about broad-based change or alternative policies for Kenya. It was always a personal project wrapped in “Wantam” slogans and ethnic mobilisation.
The purge of Malala confirms what critics have long said: this is not a citizens’ movement. It is Rigathi Gachagua’s tribal briefcase party.
The con is over. Kenyans can now see DCP for exactly what it is a vehicle too small for national ambition and too tribal for genuine unity.
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