Kenya: Gachagua - DCP Earned Its Popularity, Rival Parties Must Up Their Game

What the report says

Former Kenyan Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has rejected claims that his Democracy for the Citizens Party is crowding out other political groups in the Mt Kenya region, saying he supports competition and has not told any party to dissolve. The remarks, reported by Capital FM and distributed by AllAfrica, came after former Public Service Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi, former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya and former Senator Lenny Kivuti said DCP had become too dominant.

Gachagua argued that DCP’s rise reflects active grassroots campaigning rather than an attempt to suppress rivals. He urged other parties to strengthen their own outreach and said multiple parties should be allowed to compete in the region. He also pointed to what he described as a weak showing by Peter Munya’s Party of National Unity in a recent Ol Kalou by-election as evidence that some rivals were failing to connect with voters.

The dispute follows an earlier row over Gachagua’s reported call, made at a church event in Meru on July 26, for several Mt Kenya parties to dissolve and join DCP. Muturi, Munya and Kivuti later said such decisions can only be taken by a party’s lawful organs and under the Political Parties Act, and that no one person can claim to speak for the whole Mt Kenya bloc.

The broader significance is that the exchange highlights growing competition within Kenya’s opposition politics in Mt Kenya ahead of future realignments, while also raising questions about party autonomy, coalition-building and who can legitimately claim regional leadership.