The Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP), which former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has tried to position as his political lifeline after impeachment, is already showing signs of internal fracture, with signs the outfit could be headed for absorption into Ruto’s orbit before the 2027 elections.
In law, the DCP’s legitimate leadership rests not with Gachagua but with Cleophas Malala, who serves as the party’s Deputy Leader. Gachagua, having been impeached, is constitutionally barred from holding any public or party office. This legal technicality strips him of any formal leadership roles within DCP, leaving him as a political figurehead without institutional control.
Ruto’s allies are well aware of this loophole, and there are reports that State House could be using Malala’s position to control DCP. The party’s ownership, both legally and politically, is already tilting toward State House if reports of Cleaophas Malala being a Ruto agent in the party are anything to go by.
By the time Gachagua attempts to regroup, it will be too late to form a viable alternative party or coalition.
Ruto’s path to State House in the 2022 election depended heavily on the Mt Kenya vote, and Gachagua was the man who could deliver the Kikuyu bloc and push Ruto past the 50% plus one threshold. In hindsight, the alliance was transactional. Ruto’s preferred deputy was always Kithure Kindiki, a loyalist with a clean image and no political baggage.
Now, with Kindiki’s elevation as Deputy President, Ruto has finally realigned his inner circle to reflect his original vision. However, Mt Kenya vote, once consolidated under Gachagua’s influence, is now fragmented. Without a single kingmaker, Ruto faces no unified Mt Kenya challenge.
Recent allegations by Kirinyaga Woman Representative Njeri Maina have exposed the growing turmoil within DCP. She claimed the party’s Deputy leader, Cleophas Malala, is holding secret meetings with Rigathi Gachagua’s opponents in Mt Kenya to plan the creation of a splinter group aimed at weakening the party from within.
If these claims hold, the DCP’s internal cohesion is already compromised, and the new party risks becoming a political asset to be traded. DCP, under Malala’s legal leadership, will likely be absorbed into the ruling coalition or sold outright to Ruto’s camp.
Not to sound like a prophet of doom for DCP, but by the time Gachagua realizes the full extent of his isolation, the political machinery will have moved on without him. His dream of using DCP as a comeback vehicle will collapse due to President Ruto’s strategic precision.
The President’s control over DCP is not a matter of if, but when.
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