By Anderson Ojwang
Finally, Kenyans will be expecting the battle of the titans between President William Ruto and his impeached Deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, at the August 2027 general elections.
After resigning from his party, United Democratic Alliance (UDA), Gachagua unveiled his new political outfit, Democracy Citizen Party (DCP), with which he hopes to face President Ruto.
Through the party, Gachagua first hopes to lock Ruto out of the vote-rich Mt Kenya region to deny him a second presidential term.
And to ensure that he consolidates the Mountain and avoids fallouts during nominations, Gachagua declared that the party will not issue direct nominations to candidates — all aspirants will be expected to fight for the nomination ticket at the primaries.
Equally, Gachagua has told President William Ruto that he has a date with him in August 2027 at the ballot box.
“We will stop at nothing to make Kenya a better place, with good governance and leadership in place. The people of Kenya have unfinished business with you. I have a date with you in August 2027,” he said.
Gachagua’s declaration is a departure from the majority of the main political parties that have consistently given out direct tickets to their preferred candidates, denying other aspirants the opportunity to competitively engage with their opponents.
The trend of issuing direct nomination tickets has been common practice in the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), United Democratic Alliance (UDA), Jubilee Party, Ford-K, among others.
These parties enjoy massive following in their political bedrocks, and a party ticket for any elective post is almost an assurance of election victory.
“So far, we have received various requests from aspirants who want to run for various positions on the party ticket.
The requests are from all over the country. We have requests for gubernatorial, senatorial, parliamentary, women representative, and Member of County Assembly positions.
I want to assure any of our aspirants that we have no favourite candidate. I want to urge you to register and embark on membership recruitment for the party. It is the members who will give us the candidates that they have chosen for the various seats.
The election board will organise elections and nominations in accordance with the party’s constitution and structures.
This party has no favourite candidate. We have no provision for direct nomination. The party believes in the ideology of ‘let the people decide’.
I want to state here that I have many leaders and friends who have walked and stood with me during the trying moments.
But I want to confirm to you here that none of them will get direct nomination. Let everyone be prepared to fight for the ticket during the party primaries,” he said.
Gachagua’s DCP is likely to be the dominant party in Mt Kenya after he recently resigned from UDA. The battle for the party ticket is likely to ignite a fierce political contest in the region.
UDA, under President William Ruto, was the dominant party in Mt Kenya during the 2022 elections. But after the fallout and subsequent impeachment of his deputy, the party is now struggling to regain its footing in the slippery Mountain.
Gachagua said the party’s philosophy and slogan are based on listening to the ground, with a symbol of a listening ear.
“Today marks an important day in the history of democracy in Kenya. Indeed, today is a Kenyan moment. I bring forth my response to the calls by Kenyans for a new vehicle. I am giving them back their right that they have been denied for so long.
Our nation is sinking in high taxation, raiding of payslips, poor healthcare among others. We must salvage the country.
Listening to the people of Kenya is a calling, while actively listening to people is a duty.
I have spent six months at my Wamunyoro village listening to people. I have engaged in a series of consultations with leaders, businesspeople, students, scholars, and ordinary Kenyans on various platforms. I have held several media interviews on national TV stations and online sessions on TikTok and X Spaces.
One thing is clear — they had nobody to listen to their cry.
They want to participate in the leadership and governance of their country.
Going forward, the future of the nation lies in Gen Z and millennials. They have demanded to be listened to and be included in the leadership. That is why we decided to give them leadership positions in our party.
Today is the time for the liberation of our nation. Kenyans have told us to form a political party and to form an inclusive government — a government for the people and by the people — and that is what I am going to do.
We took the challenge. I made a promise to you that in May 2025, I would unveil a new political party. I have kept my word. We finally have a political party that belongs to us. We believe that every citizen must be listened to by the leaders.
As the party leader, I will listen to the people. I will continue to listen to their voices. This is the biggest political movement in the country since 1963,” he said.
