Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua left the country on Friday in what he defined as a month-long tour of the United Kingdom to raise at least a billion shillings to cover part of his 2027 General Election budget.
“My National Elections Board budget for the 2027 nominations alone is Sh2 billion. I anticipate that nomination fees charged on aspirants will raise half of it. I leave for the United Kingdom to harness fundraising efforts so that by 2027 we are ready,” he said.
The government no doubt will be interested to know who Mr Gachagua will be meeting, given his commitment to ensuring that it is voted out in 2027—an exercise that will certainly require more serious partners, especially those in the diplomatic and international wheeler-dealing circles.
Mr Gachagua said he must ensure he is ready to face the financial pressure, given that incumbents everywhere traditionally enjoy the advantage of unmatched resource muscle.
Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) Party Leader Rigathi Gachagua (centre) addressing his supporters in Kikuyu Town along the Southern Bypass on April 11, 2026 before the rally was disrupted by Anti-Riot Police officers. With him are Kiambu County Senator Paul Karungo Thangwa (left) and Manyatta MP Gitonga Mukunji.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation
“I do not want a situation where the resource gap will make us captive to aspirants. I want a DCP that will be the most sought-after ticket, but only insofar as aspirants will chip in without any strings attached. They give us money to buy campaign vehicles and other materials, but not at the expense of democracy, where we will be blackmailed as a party,” he said.
Mr Gachagua said financial gaps can result in chaotic party primaries where tickets are sold to the highest bidder, as well as fuel vulnerabilities to state poaching of key actors.
“I want to ensure that money from aspirants means nothing to our integrity as a party. Help us if you can, but not in exchange for a contest ticket. All tickets will be awarded by the people in primaries, which is why I must get supporters and financiers to build our independent war chest,” he said.
In a country where suspicion has persistently raged across the political spectrum that some foreign interests infiltrate local electoral cycles while angling for both bilateral and multilateral interests, hence financing political formations, there is every reason the government will be interested to know whether Mr Gachagua’s visit to the UK has more than meets the eye.
“There are local interests, and there are international interests in any general election across the globe. Kenya is no exception, and, agreed, many interested parties bet on those elections. So many interest-based bets occur, and they are attached to benefits that can only be promised through meetings,” said former envoy to Germany Mr Kirore Mwaura.
He said the state monitors foreign tours by all actors, whether allied or opposed to the government, terming it a “precautionary interest”.
It is also sometimes in foreign lands that local political formations meet to craft deals that use democracy as leverage, hence why political pundits will be very vigilant about who in local political formations—either from government or the opposition—will be leaving for any strategic coordinates shared by Mr Gachagua.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua meets his supporters after unveiling his new political outfit, the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP), in Lavington, Nairobi on May 15, 2025.
Photo credit: Reuters
This being the second time Mr Gachagua has left the country since he was impeached in October 2024 after serving as Deputy President for two years, between July 10 and August 21, 2025, he toured the United States, where, on July 26, he held talks with former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s preferred presidential candidate on a Jubilee ticket, Dr Fred Matiang’i. The two met in Aberdeen, Maryland, and jointly met Kenyan professionals in Baltimore. During the tour, Mr Gachagua held town halls and cultural receptions with Kenyans in Seattle, Washington, Boston, Dallas, Texas, Kansas City and Los Angeles.
In Texas, he met Abagusii community leaders for a farewell dinner. In Seattle, he met members of the Agikuyu community at a musical festival.
Reports also indicated that he met selected American businesspeople and investors as part of positioning the opposition for the anticipated 2027 change of guard in the presidency.
Without naming who he targets to meet during this latest fundraising mission abroad, Mr Gachagua said, “I will meet our supporters and partners who have volunteered to be part of our liberation journey.”
He added that “there are many of our people who moved abroad and are today very successful and have expressed a desire to be part of our journey to put back our country on the correct rails”.
Mr Gachagua’s absence from the local political scene is seen by some pundits as a big test of whether the loose United Alternative Government will keep the resistance fire burning.
“Mr Gachagua has, for the past 20 months, fashioned himself as the de facto leader of the opposition with a monopoly on high-octane slogans and statements while locking the biggest voting bloc—Mt Kenya—away from President Ruto,” said political analyst Mr Herman Manyora.
Murang’a Senator Joe Nyutu told Nation that “our party leader leaves the country well assured that we will continue making the opposition sting felt, especially now that we are about to start cooperating with the Linda Mwananchi faction of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) that has Edwin Sifuna and Babu Owino as principals”.
“Of the above, none has provided us with proof of matching Mr Gachagua’s understanding of what 2027 is all about. He has been the most visible in the opposition campaigns and the founder of the Wantam slogan. He has been the most mobile and the most marked man by state agents and allied goons,” said political analyst Mr Malila Munywoki.
