Gachagua Welcomes Jubilee Defectors as DCP Moves to Expand Nairobi Footprint

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has welcomed a group of political leaders and supporters from the Jubilee Party into his Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP), in a move the party says will strengthen its presence in Nairobi ahead of the 2027 General Election.

The high-profile defection centred on Kamukunji MP Yusuf Hassan, who formally joined DCP at a gathering attended by Gachagua and several party leaders.

Hassan said he had decided to join DCP because of what he described as the party’s commitment to change and its growing appeal among Nairobi residents.

“I have been happy to join the DCP because DCP is a party that wants good things for Kenyans. It is a party that wants change, real change,” Hassan said.

He cited the rising cost of living, unemployment, taxation and corruption among the concerns facing Kenyans, saying voters were looking for better leadership and improved living conditions.

Hassan also pledged to work with Gachagua as the party prepares for the next election, saying the political journey would continue until the opposition secures victory and forms a new government.

Jubilee leaders follow Hassan

The event also brought together other Nairobi politicians who previously worked under the Jubilee banner.

Mark Mwenje, the Embakasi West MP, said he was among three Nairobi MPs elected on a Jubilee ticket, alongside Hassan and Starehe MP Mwago.

Mwenje congratulated Hassan for joining DCP and said the move marked the beginning of a new political chapter for the Nairobi leaders. He said the group was now rallying behind Gachagua and DCP.

Former Jubilee politician Maina Kamanda described Hassan's move as significant, saying several politicians he had mentored politically had now joined DCP.

Kamanda specifically referred to Hassan, Mwenje and Mwago, saying the three had previously been associated with Jubilee but had now moved to Gachagua's party.

The gathering also featured leaders of Jubilee's Nairobi constituency branches. One speaker said 14 Jubilee constituency chairpersons were present at the event to be received into DCP.

In a further indication of the scale of the political realignment, a Nairobi Jubilee official announced that the party's Nairobi County office had been closed and said efforts would begin to bring more Jubilee structures into DCP.

“From today ... this Jubilee County Nairobi office, we have closed it,” the official said, adding that further delegations would follow as the party sought to convert Jubilee structures in Nairobi to DCP.

DCP targets Nairobi

The defections come as Gachagua's party seeks to build a broad political coalition ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

DCP officials used the event to portray the party as a national political vehicle rather than one based on ethnic or regional interests. They repeatedly called on Kenyans from different communities to join the party.

The party's leadership also reiterated its support for a single opposition presidential candidate in 2027. A DCP official said the party had committed Gachagua to the wider opposition discussions while insisting that opposition parties should ultimately agree on one presidential candidate.

The party further said it intended to field candidates for other elective positions, including governors, senators, women representatives, MPs and MCAs.

At the Nairobi gathering, DCP officials presented the influx of former Jubilee politicians as evidence of the party's growing influence in the capital.

Gachagua's supporters also used the event to criticise President William Ruto's administration, arguing that economic hardship, unemployment and the cost of living had increased the pressure on Kenyans.

For Hassan, the decision to join DCP is also rooted in his opposition to what he described as ethnic politics. He said Kenya should remain united and rejected attempts to create divisions between different communities.

The latest defections could give Gachagua's DCP an important boost in Nairobi, where Jubilee has historically maintained a political presence and where competition for opposition support is expected to intensify as the 2027 election approaches.

With more Jubilee officials and supporters signalling their move to DCP, Gachagua's party will now face the challenge of translating the high-profile defections into an organised grassroots political machine capable of competing across Nairobi's constituencies.

The DCP leadership has already promised to conduct what it described as free and fair nominations, with its secretary-general saying no candidate would be treated as a preferred candidate before the nomination process.

The Nairobi defections therefore mark more than a change of party labels: they signal an increasingly competitive battle to control the capital's political machinery ahead of the 2027 General Election.