The former Deputy President’s Wamunyoro residence is fast becoming the nerve centre of Kenya’s most consequential pre-election realignment
By James Mwangi
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, on Friday received Runyenjes Member of Parliament Eric Muchangi Karemba and Subukia MP Samuel Gachobe at his Wamunyoro residence, formally welcoming both lawmakers into the Democracy for the Citizens Party following their departures from the ruling United Democratic Alliance — defections that deepen DCP’s parliamentary footprint and signal accelerating erosion of President William Ruto’s Mount Kenya base ahead of the August 2027 general election.
Manyatta MP Gitonga Mukunji, already a DCP member, accompanied Karemba to the ceremony, reflecting the party’s growing confidence in presenting collective arrivals as a demonstration of momentum rather than isolated crossings.
The occasion carried the unmistakable atmosphere of a party in ascent. Supporters wearing green caps and carrying “I Wamunyoro” placards packed the residence, providing the visual language of a movement that has travelled well beyond its origins as a vehicle of personal grievance into something with genuine structural ambition.
Gachagua was direct about what he expects from his new recruits. Welcoming Gachobe, he said he had assured him that DCP’s nominations would be free and fair, and urged him to move swiftly to build his grassroots network ahead of the primaries scheduled for March. “Gachobe joins a growing number of leaders who have found a new home in the party of the present and the future,” Gachagua said. On Karemba, he announced that he would travel to Runyenjes Constituency next week to present the MP formally to his constituents, adding that both Karemba and Mukunji would lead DCP’s drive to win the Embu County governorship, all parliamentary seats and all 20 wards.
The Wamunyoro gathering was not, however, the only significant political movement of the day. Gachagua also received the entire Nyeri County Assembly, led by Speaker James Gichuhi — an institutional body, not merely individual politicians, crossing to DCP in a single movement. Gachagua responded with a direct challenge to UDA: DCP will contest every elective seat across Nyeri, from governor to ward representative, with open primaries in March.
The Nyeri assembly’s defection carries weight beyond the numbers it adds to DCP’s ranks. Nyeri is historically one of the most politically consequential counties in Mount Kenya, and its assembly’s public alignment with Gachagua is a reputational blow to UDA’s claim that it retains legitimate roots in the region. Combined with the arrival of two sitting MPs in a single day, it suggests that the political geography of central Kenya is shifting faster than the governing party’s public response has so far acknowledged.
Gachagua’s position in Kenya’s pre-election landscape has evolved considerably since his impeachment. What began as a question of whether he could survive politically has become a question of whether anyone running for president in 2027 can afford to run against him. DCP commands substantial support across Mount Kenya and Maasailand, and Gachagua is widely regarded as the most consequential kingmaker the cycle will produce.
The March primaries commitment is a calculated signal. Open, competitive nominations serve two purposes simultaneously: they project democratic credibility at a moment when UDA is associated in public discourse with imposed candidacies, and they provide a transparent mechanism for absorbing defectors from multiple parties without appearing to reward loyalty over merit.
With nine months remaining before Kenya goes to the polls, Wamunyoro has become the most watched political address in the country. On Friday’s gatherings suggest the queue of arrivals is far from over. The future, as Gachagua’s supporters are increasingly fond of saying, is green.
Some of the moments as captured in pictures
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