DCP leader Rigathi Gachagua.
Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua has announced plans to tour the United States to rally Kenyans in the diaspora behind his presidential bid ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Gachagua, who spoke on Tuesday during a rally in Karatina, Nyeri county, said he had already secured what he considers sufficient support at home and was now turning his attention to the diaspora vote.
The former Deputy President said his planned US trip would form part of his efforts to mobilise support for his campaign and build momentum around his pledge to defeat President William Ruto in the next election.
“I had gone on a short journey, and I have just returned home to seek blessings because I want to head to America to arrange how to send Ruto home,” he said.
Gachagua maintained that the groundwork for removing Ruto from office had already been laid, arguing that the President was increasingly isolated politically and had no escape route.
He claimed regions that had strongly supported Ruto and his United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party had now shifted towards DCP and other opposition-aligned parties ahead of the 2027 polls.
“The journey to send Ruto home is complete, waiting for election day to cast our votes is what now remains,” he said.
Gachagua listed Nyanza, Western, Kajiado, Nairobi, Ukambani and Mt Kenya among the regions he claimed had embraced the “Wantam” campaign.
He also cited the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election as evidence of DCP's growing influence, saying the result offered a glimpse of what could happen in the 2027 presidential contest.
“Ol Kalou was just the test. I have traversed the entire of Kenya and people are saying Wantam. Kenyans have told me I'm the best suited to send Ruto home, they have told me to vie for the president's seat.”
The DCP leader has put a figure to the support he believes he has consolidated ahead of negotiations with other opposition leaders over a possible single presidential candidate.
Speaking on Monday during a consultative meeting with more than 3,000 grassroots mobilisers from Nyeri county at his Wamunyoro home, Gachagua claimed he had already secured about 12 million votes.
“I have eight million votes from the mountain, Nairobi one million, Maasai one million, Kipsigis 600,000. I have around 12 million,” he said.
Gachagua said he would use the figures as his bargaining chip in talks with other opposition leaders as they consider how to settle on a single candidate for the 2027 presidential election.
They include Wiper Party's Kalonzo Musyoka, Jubilee's Fred Matiang'i, PLP's Martha Karua, Linda Mwananchi's Edwin Sifuna, DAPK's Eugene Wamalwa and DP's Justin Muturi among others.
Gachagua said discussions would have to be held on who was best placed to lead the opposition into the election.
“I will sit down with Kalonzo and the rest for a candid discussion on who will lead Kenya and why. We must talk,” he said.
But Narok Senator Ledama Olekina dismissed Gachagua's claimed numbers, describing them as imaginary and symptomatic of the tribal politics he says continues to hold Kenya back.
“The biggest disease rotting Kenya is this stupid belief that tribal numbers equal merit. We are still crawling as a nation because we are enslaved by tribalism,” Ledama wrote on X.
The senator argued that political strength based primarily on ethnic numbers did not amount to national leadership.
He said a politician whose authority depended solely on ethnic majorities lacked the leadership credentials needed to unite the country and instead risked becoming a factional figurehead.
According to Ledama, numerical calculations based on ethnic groupings had little value at the ballot box without a broader national strategy and a unifying political agenda.
“Riggy G, keep flashing those imaginary numbers you use to scare people. They don’t impress anyone serious. You remain a Moran who has never shown the capacity, discipline or intellect to drag Kenya out of its perceived ‘leadership mess’,” he said.
ack in Karatina, Gachagua used his home turf to rally Mt Kenya voters behind his political project, urging the region not to abandon him when the 2027 contest arrives.
The former Deputy President said he would remain committed to his supporters and promised not to let them down.
“And I want to assure you my people at home, I will not let you down,” he said.
He also challenged residents of Mathira, his home constituency, to overwhelmingly reject Ruto at the ballot, saying the President should receive no more than 1,000 votes in the constituency.
Gachagua's latest remarks underline the increasingly competitive opposition politics ahead of 2027, with parties and potential presidential contenders seeking to demonstrate their national reach while positioning themselves for negotiations over a possible joint ticket.
