Aasai

Former Kenyan Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has confirmed that he will run for president in 2027, saying he still has legal standing despite the ongoing impeachment proceedings. Speaking in a live interview on Citizen TV on August 26, 2025, the leader of the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) said that the Kenyan Constitution protects him from running for president while the appeal against his impeachment is still ongoing. “I am qualified and I have support.

 The Constitution allows a person to run for elected office even if he has been convicted, if he has not yet exercised his legal rights. The Supreme Court has not yet given a final decision on my impeachment,” Gachagua said. In October 2024, the National Assembly passed a motion to impeach him, and the Senate approved his impeachment by a vote on five of the eleven charges filed. 

The charges included allegations of corruption, abuse of power, and inciting ethnic divisions, allegations he has repeatedly denied, calling them political vendettas. After his dismissal, Gachagua filed several court cases challenging the legality of the move and the entire parliamentary process, which he describes as discriminatory and irregular.

 According to the Constitution, a person may run for elected office even if there is a pending case or appeal, as long as there is no final decision barring him from running for office. This is the basis of Gachagua’s argument: that there is no permanent ban and therefore he is free to contest the 2027 presidential election. 

In the interview, which took place at his Karen home, Gachagua addressed for the first time his earlier statement about “government shares,” saying he was under pressure from his community to ensure that President William Ruto fulfilled their pre-2022 election agreement. “A coalition government is formed through consensus. 

I sat down with William Ruto as a representative of the people of Mount Kenya and we agreed that he would receive 70 percent of our votes for 40 percent of the government positions,” he said. He revealed that it was a gentlemen’s agreement that was not put in writing. He said communities from other regions such as the West and Coast negotiated through written agreements, which he did not. “I asked for cabinet positions such as the Ministry of Home Affairs, Finance, Agriculture, Lands, Trade, Water, Attorney-General and Infrastructure Development. I also discussed coffee and tea reforms, and minimum wage rates for farmers,” he explained. 

Gachagua said the problems between him and President Ruto began when the President refused to implement what they agreed to before the election. In the interview, Gachagua also defended himself against accusations of tribalism, saying that his recent visit to America was national and that he met with all Kenyans, although some meetings were organised by certain communities for specific issues.“I held public meetings that included all Kenyans, but I also attended meetings of specific communities that invited me.

 These communities were not founded by me. In America, the Kamba have their own party, the Luo, the Maasai, and other communities as well. I cannot refuse an invitation just because it comes from a party of one tribe,” he explained. He said the accusations of ethnicity are propaganda from President Ruto’s allies after they had political differences with him. “When I was with Ruto, they used to praise me as a patriot, a strongman, and a national leader. 

But after he left, they started insulting me and smearing me,” he said. He said he is a patriot who loves his community without hating others. “I am a patriot. I love my community, but that does not mean I hate others. I want anyone to bring me video or audio evidence of me insulting or humiliating any other community,” said Gachagua.