DEP leader Lenny Kivuti, PNU leader Peter Munya and DP leader Justin Muturi during a press conference on August 4, 2026A simmering fallout between DCP leader Rigathi Gachagua and three Mt Kenya party leaders has exposed fresh cracks within the united opposition.
T
he competition for governor seats has emerged as the main trigger of the latest flare-up.The row burst into the open on Tuesday after DP leader Justin Muturi, PNU leader Peter Munya and Devolution Empowerment (Mbus) Party leader Lenny Kivuti accused Gachagua of attempting to politically suffocate smaller parties by pressuring them to dissolve and join DCP.
The trio, whose parties are part of the opposition alliance, insisted they would retain their political identities, arguing that coalition politics should be founded on mutual respect rather than domination by one party.
They regard Mt Kenya East as their political stronghold.
However, Gachagua on Wednesday dismissed the accusations, saying the protests had little to do with party autonomy and everything to do with personal political ambitions.
"I will field candidates everywhere, from MCA to governor. Only the presidency, which I am also interested in, it is a position we will sit and discuss," Gachagua said at his Wamunyoro residence, where he held a consultative meeting with delegates from Mathioya and Kangema constituencies in Murang'a county.
"In Embu and Meru, I have a candidate and maybe that's why those two, Peter Munya and Lenny Kivuti, are lamenting. On that one, I cannot help them. They have to speak for themselves to residents," he added.
His remarks laid bare what analysts say is the real source of the latest tensions: an escalating contest for political supremacy in Mt Kenya East, where Munya and Kivuti are eyeing governorships even as DCP expands its influence across the region.
Gachagua has subtly backed Manyatta MP Gitonga Mukunji for Embu governor, former Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi for Meru governor and Kirinyaga Senator Kamau Murango for Kirinyaga governor.
The endorsements have effectively placed DCP on a collision course with Munya and Kivuti, both of whom are seeking to revive their political fortunes in counties where Gachagua's party is rapidly consolidating support.
The former deputy president insisted DCP would not negotiate away county seats.
"Everyone should market their own party," he said, adding that there would be no closed-door zoning arrangements for govenor, parliamentary or county assembly seats.
The only position available for coalition negotiations, he said, would be the presidency.
Gachagua also sought to remind Muturi of the political support he extended during last year's Mbeere North by-election.
"I don't have any problem with Mt Kenya parties," he said.
"To prove that, in Mbeere North I stepped down a very popular candidate at the request of Muturi and Kivuti, which got me into problems with my party members. On top of that, I went to Mbeere North for 10 days with my soldiers to campaign for a DP candidate. I even stayed at Muturi's house."
Despite DCP withdrawing its preferred candidate, Duncan Mbui, in favour of DP candidate Newton Karish, the opposition narrowly lost the seat to UDA after independent candidate Mbui remained in the race and split the anti-government vote.
The by-election has since become a reference point within the opposition over the cost of electoral compromises.
DCP has now moved to correct what Gachagua recently described as its "biggest Mbeere North mistake" by formally unveiling Mbui as its candidate for the constituency in 2027. Karish has since joined DCP and is expected to run for Embu Senate.
Political analyst Prof Gitile Naituli argued that beneath the public exchanges lies a struggle for political survival among leaders from Mt Kenya East.
"They want to be governors. That's all," Naituli said.
"Munya wants Meru, Kivuti wants Embu. The friction comes because DCP is becoming the dominant political vehicle in the region."
According to Naituli, unlike the central Mt Kenya counties, where Gachagua's influence is already firmly established, Meru and Embu remain among the last counties where veteran politicians are attempting to preserve their individual political bases.
He argued that smaller parties now face an existential dilemma as DCP's popularity grows.
"If you're not with Gachagua in Mt Kenya today, you'll probably lose the election. People know where the numbers are," he said.
The contest also reflects a broader shift in opposition politics from coalition-building to competition over local power centres.
While the opposition continues projecting unity around a single presidential candidate to challenge President William Ruto, county-level contests are increasingly pitting allies against each other as leaders seek to protect their political relevance.
Political communication analyst Eric Kigara said that while Muturi, Munya and Kivuti are legally entitled to maintain independent parties, political momentum currently favours DCP.
"The autonomy argument is legally sound. Nobody can force a party to dissolve," Kigara said.
"But autonomy is not the same as relevance. DCP is the party setting the political conversation across Mt Kenya."
He argued that the question facing smaller regional parties is no longer whether they can survive legally, but whether they can withstand the electoral momentum building around Gachagua.
For Gachagua, however, conceding county seats would undermine his strategy of transforming DCP into the region's dominant political machine before negotiations over the opposition's presidential flag bearer begin.
That stance now places him on a direct collision course with some of his closest allies, including Muturi and Kivuti, exposing the delicate balancing act between maintaining coalition unity and satisfying individual party ambitions.
INSTANT ANALYSIS
A public fallout between Rigathi Gachagua and opposition allies Justin Muturi, Peter Munya and Lenny Kivuti has exposed growing tensions over control of Mt Kenya politics ahead of the 2027 elections. While the trio accuses Gachagua of trying to force smaller parties into DCP, the former deputy president insists the dispute is driven by Munya's and Kivuti's gubernatorial ambitions in Meru and Embu, where DCP has already identified preferred candidates.
