After impeachment setback, Kenyans read Gachagua’s lips

Former Kenyan Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua was this week left fighting for his political future after the High Court upheld his impeachment by the Senate in October 2024.

The ruling means the outspoken 61-year-old politician cannot hold public office unless the decision is overturned by the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court. Gachagua has already indicated he will challenge the judgment, arguing that the three-judge bench found his right to a fair hearing at the Senate had been violated.

While he remains hopeful that higher courts could restore his eligibility to contest future elections, time may not be on his side. Kenya’s next General Election is scheduled for August 2027, just over a year away, and politically sensitive cases often take years to conclude.

Although the Judiciary has reported progress in reducing case backlogs, impeachment disputes involving senior political figures tend to move slowly through the courts.

Petitions challenging Gachagua’s impeachment were first filed in October 2024, with the High Court taking more than one and a half years to determine the matter.

Yet the legal setback may strengthen rather than diminish Gachagua’s political influence. Since his ouster, he has emerged as a rallying figure among supporters who view him as a victim of political persecution by President William Ruto’s administration.

That sentiment has boosted his standing in the Mount Kenya region, Kenya’s largest voting bloc and a critical battleground in national elections. Gachagua is expected to use the latest court ruling to further energise supporters of his Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP).

The party, little known before Gachagua rebranded it in May 2025, has rapidly gained traction in Mount Kenya, challenging both Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and the Jubilee Party associated with former president Uhuru Kenyatta.

Mount Kenya delivered more than 40 per cent of the votes that propelled Ruto to victory in the 2022 presidential election, making the region central to opposition calculations for 2027.

In recent months, remarks by Gachagua’s allies portraying him as the opposition’s strongest political asset unsettled leaders in rival parties and exposed tensions within the emerging anti-Ruto coalition.

However, a day after the High Court ruling, Gachagua signalled a different approach. He announced that he would take a 45-day retreat from public engagements to strategise on how to make Ruto a one-term president, including backing a single opposition candidate.

His appearance this weekend on an early campaign tour of western Kenya alongside former vice-president Kalonzo Musyoka is likely to fuel speculation that Musyoka is emerging as the preferred opposition flag-bearer.

The choice of western Kenya is also notable because it is the home region of Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, who is increasingly being mentioned as a possible running mate for Musyoka in 2027.