Am the best candidate to unseat Ruto in 2027; Gachagua on being flagbearer

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua now says he is the best-suited candidate to take on President William Ruto in the next general election.

Gachagua, who launched his party, the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP), this week, however, says he will readily work with any other opposition leader to defeat President Ruto in 2027.

In an exclusive interview with Citizen TV, the now opposition leader also stated that he has had no verbal contact with Ruto since his impeachment and made it his intention to unseat the President and relegate him to a one-term president.

“We have many candidates. I am of the opinion that I am the best. I should be given the flagbearer of the team,” he said.

Gachagua has been meeting and strategising with other opposition figures, the latest being former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i, as they seek to find the best way to move forward with their agenda. The foRmer DP says this unity of purpose is non-negotiable, just as it was in 2002.

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“The people of Kenya forced the opposition to be united against the Moi project. History is repeating itself. The kind of mismanagement of the country, the levels of corruption, impunity, extrajudicial killings, abductions, state capture, misappropriation – running the country down,” Gachagua said.

He further maintains that the opposition unity is not a fleeting occurrence, saying, “We have been brought together by circumstances. In my community, there is a saying that buffalos don’t walk together in a herd because they like each other. It is the danger of walking alone. The danger we face in this country makes it mandatory to like each other, to liberate this country.”

The opposition figure has consistently faulted President Ruto for betraying the very principles they had campaigned on.

The former DP also faulted the government for what he termed as crude tactics it continuously employs to hinder him from exercising his democratic rights.

During his party launch, a fracas ensued with goons attempting to scatter the event, a situation that led to chaos. Gachagua is now challenging the government to cease such dealings.

“You cannot force someone to support you. We have moved on, and we ask the president to let us be. Let him do his politics; we will do ours,” he noted.

At the same time, Gachagua says he has fully severed ties with President Ruto, whom he blames for his impeachment.