Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader and former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
After ruling party candidate Mr Leonard wa Muthende triumphed over the Democratic Party (DP) candidate in the Mbeere North by-election, the spotlight is shining sharply on former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
Mr Muthende trounced Mr Gachagua’s preferred candidate, Newton Kariuki, with a margin of 494 votes: 15,802 against 15,308.
A compilation of reactions by critics as well as allies of Mr Gachagua shows what the Sunday Nation has crystallised into ten vital lessons for the former Mathira MP that could shape how he faces the 2027 General Election.
The first, according to his loyalists, is that Mr Gachagua has shown great promise. According to Kirinyaga Woman Representative Njeri Maina, Mr Gachagua proved to be a force when he fielded candidates in the wards of Kariobangi North, Narok Township and Kisa East and won.
She added that Mr Gachagua’s candidates in Magarini and Purko Ward in Kajiado emerged as strong runners-up.
“Remember that this is a man they impeached in October 2024 and gave him a week to be forgotten. The mere fact that Mr Gachagua formed a party and competed in the by-elections is a clear indication that he is not a pushover,” said Kipipiri MP Wanjiku Muhia.
The second lesson for the former DCP leader is the question of whether, politically, he is behaving as a national leader. Mr Gachagua has been accused of being obsessed with Mt Kenya politics to the point of cutting for himself the image of a perfected tribalist.
After DCP’s Stanley Karisa Kenga garnered 8,907 votes in Magarini, Mr Gachagua was elated, congratulating him. “For a new party with no previous inroads in the Coast region coming in a credible second is more than acceptable,” he said, comments he repeated over the Narok Township ward by-election win by DCP, bagged by Douglas Masikonde.
In what appeared to be a show of consciousness of the tribal and regionalism tag, Mr Gachagua said: “This now gives me an entry into the Coast Region. I will be in the Coast over the December holiday season to meet possible aspirants and establish party offices.”
Mr Gachagua’s Deputy, Cleophas Malala, who witnessed Mr Aduda Okwiri take the Kisa East ward seat, said: “We are now a proven testament that we are a competitive national party.”
The other lesson for Mr Gachagua is on his “subjective” brand of politics, according to Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku.
The CS says the Mbeere North by-election loss “should teach Mr Gachagua that his personality politics, where he thrives on belittling, insulting and mudslinging opponents, should stop”.
“It is a wake-up call for Mr Gachagua that formations can compete with issues but not on wickedness,” added Mr Ruku. “The Mbeere North verdict should help Mr Gachagua civilise his tongue, especially when speaking about those who do not support him... our candidate won without insulting anyone.”
The fourth lesson, his critics argue, is that the former DP should review his campaign agenda. President William Ruto has been the most prominent in scoffing at Mr Gachagua as a man driven by a “Wantam” obsession. While speaking in Kiambu County on Friday, President Ruto chided Mr Gachagua as a man who drives politics without a concrete agenda.
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki congratulates Leo Muthende of UDA after he was declared the winner in the Mbeere North by-election.
“‘Wantam’, ‘Kasongo’, ‘Must Go’ are not election agendas, and the voters have expressly proven that. We are in an era where voters are interested in a governance plan,” he said. Mr Gachagua has been widely cautioned by his former aide, Ngunjiri Wambugu to “start engaging on substance... not his current case of attending burials, church services and receiving phone calls from loyalists attending meetings while he is seated at home”.
The other learning point for him, his successor Prof Kithure Kindiki has argued, is that he should accept that a contest can go either way. Prof Kindiki, who was spearheading the government campaigns in Mbeere North, was critical of how Mr Gachagua conducted his politics in the region.
“He confronted us as if we were weaklings. He went around as a man who had a winning monopoly. The competitors were convinced that we were walkovers,” he said.
Prof Kindiki said political competition is an endeavour of open opportunity and it must not be used for the promotion of conflict.
“The difference between us and them... even after Mr Kariuki loses to our candidate, bring him to me in the office, and I will get him a job... he is also a leader,” Prof Kindiki had promised.
The sixth point that critics and loyalists say Mr Gachagua should pick from the results is that he should review his list of allies. Mr Stanley Wang’ombe, a Mr Gachagua loyalist, warned that the Mbeere North results should teach Mr Gachagua that he is carrying too much baggage in his team.
“Mr Gachagua must ask himself why he withdrew his candidate, Duncan Mbui. He went to support former Attorney-General Justin Muturi’s candidate in the Democratic Party,” he said. “Mr Gachagua, as a top bidder for the Mt Kenya kingship, must stop bending backwards too much to retain allies.” “We are in a situation where it is like we have been infiltrated by saboteurs and Mr Gachagua must assert his authority and let those seeking to decamp do so this early,” he added. “Many are adding no value to him, only hanging around him to survive on his mobilisation skills, while others are spies.”
Duncan Mbui of Chama Cha Kazi votes at Giathambo Primary School during Mbeere North by-election.
Mr Gachagua has also been presented with the question of whether he opened too many war fronts, his seventh lesson. According to Laikipia East MP Mwangi Kiunjuri, politics can be managed better if war fronts are kept at the bare minimum.
“Here we have a political bully called Mr Gachagua who has currently declared war against President Ruto, former President Uhuru Kenyatta, political parties operating in Mt Kenya, President Ruto loyalists, Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja, some of his United Opposition principals... even if you are an elephant in politics it is impossible to win all those fronts,” he said.
The eighth lesson for him, according to Manyatta MP Gitonga Mukunji, is that he should be prepared for the political tactics of his opponents. According to Mr Mukunji, political competition is now becoming a huge challenge as the government is using security organs to manage politics.
The ninth lesson for Mr Gachagua is on funds mobilisation. After Mr Kiunjuri warned Mr Gachagua that it takes more than a mouth to win an election, Mr Mukunji says it is a lesson learnt “since in Mbeere we were competing with a government that literally bought voters... it bought the outcome with colossal amounts”.
The final lesson for Mr Gachagua, it seems, is one that elders argue concerns how to hold Mt Kenya together. Kikuyu Council of Elders Chairman Mr Wachira Kiago said: “We must now, as a house, go back to the drawing table and rediscover our collective unity of purpose.”
“It is possible to belong to different political discourses but still retain our unity devoid of all the acrimony we are witnessing,” he added.
“It starts with all of us appreciating that we must not necessarily belong to one political formation but be smart enough to know what unites, ails and makes us wake up to vote, while treating each other as brother and a sister,” Mr Kiago further said.
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