Impeached in October 2024 for corruption, ethnic incitement, and subverting institutions, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is clawing back to relevance under a new outfit—the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP).
Unveiled in May under the slogan “Skiza Wakenya,” the party boasts “one million sign-ups.” But critics dismiss the surge as stage-managed hype, branding DCP a cash-minting project rather than a reform movement. Constitutionally barred from office, Gachagua casts himself as a populist outsider. Insiders, however, call it a top-down racket designed to divide, not unite.
The cracks are glaring. In Kajiado’s Purko Ward by-election, Gachagua hand-picked candidate Simon Sanare Saidimu without primaries, igniting charges of authoritarian control. In Mbeere North, his meddling splintered opposition unity, stoking rivalries. Behind the scenes, party financiers whisper of “50-50 deals” on gubernatorial slots with Gachagua—politics reduced to profit-sharing.
Even the launch reeked of disorder: poor security, unpaid allowances, chaos capped by goons firing in the air. A promised lavish June rally never materialized; instead, members complain their contributions vanished into a black hole.
Online, backlash is mounting. Viral posts paint Gachagua as a “tribal deal-maker chasing revenge,” exploiting ethnic fault lines to stay relevant. His supporters argue DCP rattles Ruto’s dominance, but analysts warn it mirrors old politics of manipulation, not empowerment.
For a country fatigued by division and patronage, Gachagua’s so-called revival looks less like reform, more like a dangerous gamble with national unity. As by-elections loom, the question is stark: Will DCP galvanize—or simply implode under the weight of its own deceit?
