Gachagua: Why Ruto will not steal the 2027 General Election

Rigathi Gachagua, leader of the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP), asserted during a live interview with KTN from his Karen home in Nairobi that President William Ruto will not be able to manipulate the results of the 2027 General Election. Gachagua claimed that Kenyan citizens have grown more alert to electoral fraud and are better equipped to safeguard their votes following the recent Ol Kalou by-election. In the interview, Gachagua highlighted the Ol Kalou by-election as a model for future elections, stating that opposition supporters had successfully implemented measures to ensure the integrity of the voting process. He emphasized that simply casting a ballot was insufficient, and that active protection of one's vote was essential. “Voting is not enough; you vote and protect the vote. We now have a template from the Ol Kalou by-election,” he stated. Gachagua warned that attempts by authorities to intimidate voters in Ol Kalou had been unsuccessful, noting that the community remained steadfast in its commitment to fair elections. “They tried intimidating the people of Ol Kalou, but they did not succeed. We are celebrating what happened, and people from across the country are calling to benchmark on how it worked,” he added. The DCP leader also criticized the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) for its perceived lack of action against alleged voter suppression and bribery during the Ol Kalou by-election. He accused the commission of failing to publicly condemn these practices, which he claimed undermined public trust in the electoral process. “IEBC has not even condemned the wrongs that happened during the by-election in Ol Kalou. We lost two people who were actually protecting our votes,” Gachagua alleged. Gachagua reiterated his longstanding criticisms of President Ruto, particularly regarding the treatment of voters from the Mt Kenya region. He suggested that Ruto’s administration had betrayed these communities despite previous assurances of support. According to Gachagua, the outcome of the Ol Kalou by-election serves as a warning to the Kenya Kwanza government ahead of the 2027 General Election. He further described the by-election as a precursor to the national polls, asserting that Kenyans could no longer be intimidated by state actors. “The result in Ol Kalou demonstrates that we can no longer be intimidated by the State. This is a preview of what to expect in the next national polls,” he said. Gachagua also revisited the Mbeere North by-election, claiming that the DCP’s loss was due to widespread voter bribery, intimidation of elderly voters, and inadequate efforts by the party to secure votes. “We lost the Mbeere North by-election because we didn’t protect our votes properly. There was also massive voter bribery, and those who participated were allegedly given the balance of their bribe after showing a photo of whom they had voted for,” he stated. He argued that the DCP could have achieved a stronger result in Ol Kalou if not for what he described as systematic voter suppression and police involvement in intimidating voters. The former Deputy President stressed that these challenges underscored the need for greater vigilance and proactive measures to ensure electoral fairness.