Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is quietly assembling a new political machine in Kiambu County, rallying disgruntled former allies of President William Ruto who say they were sidelined after the 2022 General election to weaponise them at the polls next year.
In Thika town constituency, Nation has learnt that Mr Gachagua has prevailed upon former Thika Town Member of Parliament Patrick Wainaina Wajungle to drop his gubernatorial bid and back John Mwaura Kogi, founder and chief executive officer of Finsco Africa Limited, a real estate company that has its operations in Kiambu, Nakuru and Murang’a County.
On April 20 at the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) headquarters in Nairobi, Mr Gachagua presented Mr Mwaura as the party’s candidate for the Kiambu governor’s seat ahead of the August 2027 General election.
Since then, Mr Mwaura, a close ally of Mr Gachagua, has been consolidating his support base in Kiambu, meeting ward representatives at his home in Membley Estate in Ruiru, a place he has since converted into a secretariat and strategy centre.
''My party remains DCP, and I have already set up a secretariat team in Membley Estate in Ruiru, where I have lived for years, and I strongly believe DCP will have fair nominations, '' Mr Mwaura said.
Mr Wajungle, on the other hand, has announced that he’s retreating to his former seat, Thika Town Constituency, where he hopes to fly the DCP flag at the polls.
He served as the area legislator before. Mr Wajungle vied and lost the Kiambu gubernatorial seat to Governor Kimani Wamatangi in 2022. Mr Wamatangi ran on a UDA ticket.
Mr Wajungle was one of the chief campaigners for Kenya Kwanza in the county until an incident at Thika town by President Ruto, where he announced that he had left behind Sh5 million for informal sector workers in Kiambu.
President William Ruto address residents of Rironi in Kiambu County, during the launch of the Rironi–Mau Summit Highway and the Rironi–Maai Mahiu–Naivasha road expansion.
Photo credit: PCSU
He claimed the money would be delivered through Mr Wajungle. The promise was never followed through, and the next day, hundreds of Thika town residents stormed his Jungle Nuts Limited offices in Thika town, claiming their share. Mr Wajungle would later tell reporters he had to pay from his pocket to save his business. Months later, he claimed he had been rigged during UDA nominations, and he would later vie as an independent candidate.
“Why are you contemplating something that happened four years ago? The best person to answer that is Wajungle,” State House Head of Communications Munyori Buku told Nation when asked about the incident on Saturday.
But even as this happened, Dr Ruto continued with his promise that UDA loyalists who lost during the elections would be rewarded. Mr Wajungle had told Weekly Review at the time that he was promised a Principal Secretary in the Trade Ministry. It was never to come.
In Ruiru, Mr Gachagua is fronting former Member of Parliament Esther Gathogo, who lost the seat in 2022 to incumbent Simon King'ara. On February 21, 2026, Mr Gachagua presented her as DCP's preferred pick for Ruiru.
Today, he is one of Mr Gachagua’s allies in Kiambu, citing betrayal.
In Githunguri, Mr Gachagua is courting former MP Gabriel Kago, who, before the incumbent Gathoni Wamuchomba shifted her loyalty back to the UDA party, was a fierce critic of President Ruto's administration and was a key ally of Mr Gachagua. The onslaught on the government by Ms Wamuchomba was becoming a headache to the Kenya Kwanza government, and Mr Kago was being fronted to vie in 2027 for the Githunguri seat on the UDA party. The about-turn by Ms Wamuchomba also ended Mr Kago’s dalliance with UDA.
In the Juja constituency, Mr Gachagua is relying on Mr Aloise Kinyanjui, the brother of former Gatundu South Member of Parliament Moses Kuria, after the incumbent George Koimburi shifted his loyalty to UDA to turn the tide.
Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) Party Leader Rigathi Gachagua addressing his supporters in Kikuyu Town along the Southern Bypass on April 11, 2026 before the rally was by disrupted by Anti-Riot Police officers.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group
The script is different in Kabete constituency, where the former DP has presented controversial businessman and Pastor James Wanjohi, the alleged mastermind of the Sh600 million job scam, where Kenyans lost millions through non-existent jobs through his companies, WorthStart Africa and WorthStart Travel Agency.
Mr Wanjohi denies involvement, and investigations into the matter have collapsed even as job seekers keep chasing an elusive refund.
Mr Wanjohi has announced that he will be seeking to unseat the current member of Kabete constituency, Githua Wamacukuru, on DCP ticket. Mr Wamacukuru was elected on the UDA platform and is one of Dr Ruto’s loyalists in Kiambu.
Prof Peter Kagwanja, a political strategist, asserts that Mr Gachagua is playing the dangerous politics of dominance where he wants any affiliate party, especially in Mount Kenya, working with DCP to act as a subordinate and the DCP remains supreme.
''There is a deliberate attempt by Gachagua to replicate Raila Odinga in Mount Kenya and transform DCP into a Mount Kenya version of ODM, where ODM dictated who can vie for what and through which party, and this is not possible in the Mount Kenya region,’’ Prof Kagwanja said.
Kiambu is a key political battlefield given its geo-political lineup and its voting pattern. It is the only county where Kenya Kwanza garnered more presidential votes than in Dr Ruto’s Uasin Gishu during the last presidential election.
Data from the electoral commission shows that Kenya Kwanza received 606,429 presidential votes from Kiambu out of 1,275,168 registered voters, while Uasin Gishu County produced 272, 868 presidential votes out of 506, 317 registered voters.
Kenya Kwanza presidential ticket tied Mr Gachagua and Dr Ruto together through the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) that ascended them to power. Two years later, they fell out, and Mr Gachagua was impeached by the Senate on October 17, 2024.
