Gachagua pledges embassy, parliament slots for diaspora Kenyans if elected president

Speaking during an engagement with clergy and Kenyans in Boston, Massachusetts, Gachagua said his administration would deliberately recruit qualified Kenyans living abroad to serve in the country's embassies and diplomatic missions.

Speaking during an engagement with clergy and Kenyans in Boston, Massachusetts, Gachagua said his administration would deliberately recruit qualified Kenyans living abroad to serve in the country's embassies and diplomatic missions.

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has pledged to give Kenyans living in the diaspora a greater role in the country's diplomatic service and political leadership should he become President after the 2027 General Election.

Speaking during an engagement with clergy and Kenyans in Boston, Massachusetts, Gachagua said his administration would deliberately recruit qualified Kenyans living abroad to serve in the country's embassies and diplomatic missions.

Gachagua, who leads the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP), argued that Kenyans who have lived and worked in foreign countries possess expertise, networks and local knowledge that could strengthen Kenya's diplomatic representation.

"I want to commit to this audience tonight and to all Kenyans in the diaspora that I will be very deliberate that we shall pick Kenyans in the diaspora to take charge of our embassies around the world," he said.

He said that where an ambassador is appointed from Kenya, his administration would seek to have the deputy drawn from the Kenyan community living in the host country.

Gachagua cited the example of France, arguing that it would make little sense to appoint an ambassador without knowledge of French when qualified Kenyans fluent in the language are already living there.

"It's foolish to appoint a Kenyan ambassador to France who doesn't know French, and then when he goes there, he starts lessons on how to learn French," Gachagua said.

He further pledged to establish at least three additional consulates, saying their locations would be determined through consultations with Kenyans living abroad rather than solely by officials in Nairobi.

While acknowledging the financial implications of opening new missions, Gachagua said diaspora communities would be involved in determining areas with the greatest demand for consular services.

He said Kenyans in Texas had already presented what he described as a strong case for a consulate.

Gachagua also proposed outsourcing some consular services to accredited agents in cities with significant Kenyan populations, saying the arrangement would reduce the cost and inconvenience of travelling long distances to access government documents.

Under the proposal, Kenyans would be able to apply for services including passports, national identification cards, birth certificates and marriage certificates through local centres linked to Kenyan diplomatic missions.

"It doesn't make sense for you to take a flight and spend $2,000 to go to Washington, spend three days there to renew your passport," he said.

The DCP leader also promised political representation for the diaspora through his party, saying DCP would reserve a parliamentary nomination slot for a representative of Kenyans living abroad.

He further proposed diaspora representation in county assemblies where DCP secures sufficient nomination slots, arguing that Kenyans living in countries with established devolved or local governance systems could contribute their experience to strengthening devolution.

"We'll nominate one person for every county assembly to represent the diaspora and come and help us with the devolution," Gachagua said.

He said the party would begin consultations with diaspora leaders on mechanisms for identifying potential representatives ahead of the 2027 polls.

Gachagua also proposed involving Kenyans abroad in marketing Kenyan products, including tea, coffee, avocados and macadamia nuts, with participants earning commissions from sales.

"We will create a mechanism through our missions on how you people can be salesmen and saleswomen for that matter," he said.

During the engagement, Gachagua described DCP as the country's most popular political party, attributing its growth to what he termed its philosophy of listening to citizens.

He also claimed the party would secure a majority in the National Assembly and Senate and control more than 20 county assemblies after the 2027 elections.

The remarks came during the Boston leg of Gachagua's extended tour of the United States, where he has been holding meetings with Kenyans in the diaspora, religious leaders, investors and other groups.

Gachagua arrived in Boston on October 1 after concluding engagements in Texas, with his published itinerary placing him in Massachusetts until October 9.