Munya accuses Gachagua of attempting to impose DCP as only Mt Kenya party

Aloys Michael 04th August, 2025 09:55 PM

The Party of National Unity (PNU) leader, Peter Munya, has accused former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua of attempting to impose the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) as the sole political voice in the region.

Munya’s remarks come amid rising tensions within the vote-rich region and growing concerns that Gachagua has been leveraging his office to build DCP into a regional juggernaut while sidelining other parties, including long-standing movements like PNU.

With tensions brewing and political camps re-aligning, Mt. Kenya is once again poised to become the battleground for Kenya’s ever-evolving democracy.

Speaking at an event on Monday, August 4, 2025, Munya accused Gachagua of engaging in what he termed dangerous political monopolisation and warned against dragging the country back into the dark days of single-party rule.

“Kenya is a democracy. We do not want a situation where we are taken back to one-party rule. Some people are pushing the narrative that there is only one party in Mt. Kenya. This is not only true,” Munya declared.

Former DP Rigathi Gachagua at a past address. PHOTO/@rigathi/X

The former Cabinet Secretary and veteran politician emphasised that the Mt. Kenya region, like all of Kenya, deserves political diversity and freedom of choice. He insisted that no leader should claim a monopoly over the region’s political loyalty.

“Every Kenyan has the right to join the party he or she wants. If you have your party, sell your manifesto and let the citizens decide. You cannot force loyalty, especially not in a region as politically awake as Mt. Kenya,” he said.

While Gachagua has previously denied engaging in strong-arm tactics, his frequent calls for Mt. Kenya unity under one political banner have raised eyebrows and drawn criticism from across the political aisle.

“The days when leaders handpicked political parties for us are over. What we want is a competitive political space, not coercion masquerading as unity,” Munya charged.

Munya said the party is preparing for an aggressive grassroots mobilisation campaign in Mt. Kenya to reassert its presence ahead of the 2027 general elections, saying the region’s political landscape is far from settled.