How Gachagua's DCP plans to hit 5 million members in a week

The Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP), unveiled on May 15, 2025, has embarked on a massive member recruitment drive.

Officials claim to have registered over one million members within the first 24 hours.

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua launched the party as part of his efforts to consolidate support in the Mt Kenya region and strengthen the opposition campaign aimed at unseating President William Ruto.

Immediately after its unveiling, the DCP party activated its social media platforms and launched an intensive online registration campaign.

On its verified X account, the party had garnered over 8,000 followers just 24 hours after its launch, indicating the strong traction it is receiving online.

According to DCP Organising Secretary Mithika Linturi, the party has already registered approximately 1.2 million members since its launch, with more prospective members seeking to join.

"We expect to surpass five million members by the end of next week,” Linturi said, noting that the party has received overwhelming interest and excitement from Kenyans.

The party has set up a dedicated portal on its website for new member registration as it seeks to leverage technology to recruit members across the country.

“DCP is going to be the biggest political party in Kenya by membership within the next few months, given the level of interest we are receiving,” Linturi added.

On its X account, the party has also launched an aggressive campaign to guide Kenyans on how to become members of DCP.

The party has planned a series of grassroots mobilisation campaigns across the country to drum up support for registration as it seeks to dominate the political scene ahead of the 2027 general elections.

In one of its promotional videos, the party instructs prospective members to first resign from their current political parties by using the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) USSD code.

They are then advised to follow the prompts to resign from their existing parties before repeating the process using the same USSD code to enrol as members of DCP.

The party provides its unique code as 829, which must be entered during the final step of the registration process.

Kenyan law bars individuals from being members of more than one political party. As such, the ORPP enforces strict registration protocols in compliance with the Political Parties Act, 2011.

According to the ORPP, any member of the public can check their current party membership via mobile by dialling *509# on either of the two leading mobile networks.

This service is free, with users only incurring the standard subscriber fee (currently Sh1).

Membership status can also be accessed through the Political Parties Management Information System established by the Registrar, or via the Government digital portal.

Accessing the service through these platforms is free, with only standard internet charges applying.