DCP boss Rigathi Gachagua has launched a fresh campaign to position Nyandarua Senator John Methu as the preferred running mate for Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka in the 2027 presidential race.
The push, according to multiple sources within DCP, comes amid growing anxiety within Gachagua’s camp over internal opposition polls showing Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna as the most preferred choice to deputize Kalonzo 2027 in a united opposition ticket.
Sources close to the DCP leader reveal that Gachagua has not forgiven Sifuna for voting in favor of his impeachment, a political humiliation that ended his tenure as Deputy President and barred him from holding any public office under the Kenyan Constitution.
Like his ongoing vendetta against President William Ruto, Gachagua is also targeting Sifuna with the same cold determination.
“He sees Sifuna as a traitor who celebrated his downfall. There’s no way he’ll allow him to rise to the Deputy Presidency without a fight,” a source within the party tells Kenyan Report.
The impeached former DP has made it clear that he cannot hold office himself, so he will control who does, and Sifuna is not on that list.
Edwin Sifuna is the face of the Linda Mwananchi movement, a grassroots-driven political force that has been making inroads into Mt. Kenya, Gachagua’s claimed stronghold.
”Rigathi Gachagua fears Sifuna represents an alternative center of power in the opposition, one that does not bow to his authority.”
Last month, the Linda Mwananchi group held a successful rally in Thika, Makongeni. Gachagua has since demanded that Linda Mwananchi seek his permission before holding any rallies in Mt. Kenya.
But Sifuna and his allies have defied the warning, and this weekend, Linda Mwananchi is headed to Ol Kalou, Nyandarua County.
Faced with Sifuna’s rising influence, Gachagua has turned to Senator John Methu, a loyalist he recently elevated to DCP Secretary General. Methu, a relatively low-profile politician from Nyandarua, is now being positioned as the Mt. Kenya face in a Kalonzo-led opposition coalition.
Gachagua hopes to rally the Mt. Kenya vote behind DCP and behind Kalonzo, while simultaneously neutralizing Sifuna’s momentum in the region using Senator John Methu.
But there’s a problem. Methu lacks Sifuna’s national appeal, media presence, and grassroots energy. While Sifuna commands attention across ethnic and regional lines, Methu is dull, uninformed and largely unknown outside Nyandarua. Polls reflect this reality, and Gachagua knows it.
Gachagua’s impeachment has left him in a peculiar position where he is politically active but constitutionally barred from holding office.
He cannot run for President, Deputy President, Governor, Senator, or MP. His only option is to wield power from the shadows, using proxies like Methu to steer DCP and shape the opposition’s direction.
