Impeached former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has directed Kikuyu and Kipsigis community elders to hold a joint meeting as he continues aggressive grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 General Election. The move signals a deepening alliance between the two communities that were previously the bedrock of the Kenya Kwanza coalition.
Meeting Agenda and Venue
Gachagua, who met with a South Rift delegation at his Wamunyoro home earlier this week, has asked elders from both communities to come together in a forum aimed at discussing the political roadmap to 2027. The discussions are expected to centre on fielding a joint presidential candidate to challenge President William Ruto in the next election.
“I found Ruto red-handed. That is why I parted ways with him,” Gachagua told the Kipsigis delegation, in his sharpest comments yet about the circumstances surrounding his impeachment in October 2024.
Wantam and the Opposition Wave
Gachagua’s mobilisation runs parallel to the growing ‘Wantam’ (One-Term) movement, which has launched digital voting platforms to allow Kenyans to select their preferred presidential candidate to face Ruto in 2027. Political analysts say the movements are complementary, with Gachagua providing the Mt Kenya voter base and Wantam providing the organisational infrastructure.
UDA Responds
The ruling UDA party has hit back, accusing Gachagua of using his Wamunyoro home as a campaign base that violates electoral regulations. However, Gachagua’s allies argue that community meetings are constitutionally protected. His area MP has also publicly criticised the former DP, accusing him of bringing “divisive politics” to the region.
As the Ol Kalou by-election on July 16 serves as the first major electoral test of the post-Gachagua era in Mt Kenya, all eyes are on voter turnout and which political direction the region leans.
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