This Sunday, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua will appear on Inooro TV’s Kiririmbi show, hosted by Waweru wa Nyambura. It is during this interview that he is expected to make an emotional appeal to Mt Kenya voters not to abandon him as he pushes for his 2027 presidential bid.
The move underscores how politically isolated Gachagua has become. Once a powerful figure in the Kenya Kwanza administration, he now finds himself abandoned by elected leaders, deserted by allies, and surrounded by associates who are steadily drifting away. His political base is shrinking, and the numbers he once boasted about are fast dwindling.
Even his Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP), which he hoped would be the platform for his presidential run, is collapsing. The upcoming by-elections were meant to showcase his strength, but instead, candidates have fled from his party in droves. Some aspirants have openly accused him of turning the party into a toll station, where access to a ticket requires exorbitant payments.
By-election hopefuls were reportedly asked to deposit Ksh 5 million just for a party ticket. In addition, a “monthly levy” was introduced: governors required to remit Ksh 100,000, MPs and senators Ksh 50,000, and MCAs Ksh 5,000. To many, this was not political organization but open extortion, pushing serious contenders to walk away.
As a result, what was expected to be a boom of DCP candidates in the by-elections has turned into an embarrassing withdrawal. Gachagua’s aspirants feel betrayed, and the party has lost credibility even before it has properly taken off.
On Sunday, Gachagua will plead with Mt Kenya to give him another chance. But to many in the region, the damage is already done. The mountain has started looking for new leadership.
