NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 19 – Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has dismissed reports of a fallout between him and Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) deputy leader Cleophas Malala, describing the former Kakamega senator as a bold leader and a man of principle.
Speaking during a political engagement, Gachagua said Malala had temporarily stepped back from party activities due to illness after attending the Malala Super Cup tournament in Kakamega, and not because of any internal party disagreements.
“Cleophas Malala is a bold leader and a man of principle. Malala was in Kakamega for the Malala Super Cup, after which he fell seriously ill and asked me for permission to rest for a while before returning to party affairs,” Gachagua said.
He accused allies of President William Ruto of deliberately spreading falsehoods to portray DCP as divided, saying the claims were part of a wider political scheme to weaken the party.
“But these Ruto’s people are stuck; their work now is just spreading rumours,” the former Deputy President added.
Gachagua further claimed that individuals loyal to President Ruto had infiltrated his party, insisting that their presence had long been known to the party’s leadership.
“There were people who were Ruto’s spies within my party. We already knew it was only a matter of time before they revealed where they stood,” he said.
According to Gachagua, the party has since begun an internal clean-up to remove individuals he described as disloyal, while maintaining that the party remains stable and united.
“Within my team, we knew who the Ruto spies were. DCP is intact, no one is leaving,” he stated.
He added that the party would intensify efforts this year to purge what he termed as external influence from its ranks.
“This is the year I want all those people who were sent by Ruto out; I want to remove all of them. I have started removing them one by one,” Gachagua said.
Recently, there have been mounting speculations that Cleophas Malala, the interim deputy party leader of the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP), has left his boss, Rigathi Gachagua, and rejoined the United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
This conclusion was reached due to his prolonged silence and failure to accompany Gachagua in his recent rallies, as he had in the past, when the two were often seen visiting several places together.
Malala had worked hard for his party, DCP, and delivered a huge win for the party last year during the Kisia East ward by-election, where the party’s candidate, Dickson Aduda, won over the Democratic Action Party (DAP-K) candidate, hence giving the party bragging rights and at least shading the narrative, although not much, that had been labelled against the party, that it is a tribal party and can only enjoy support within the Mount Kenya region.
