Gachagua said his deputy party leader Cleophas Malala and Secretary General-designate John Methu would lead the party’s engagements in his absence.
NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 30 – Former Deputy President and Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua has tasked his senior party officials with keeping the political movement active as he continues his extended tour of the United States.
In a statement on Sunday, Gachagua said his deputy party leader Cleophas Malala and Secretary General-designate Senator John Methu would lead the party’s engagements in his absence.
“While away engaging Kenyans in the United States of America, I have tasked my team led by my Deputy Party Leader Cleophas Malala and DCP Party Secretary General Designate Senator John Methu to continue listening to the people and speaking for them,” Gachagua said.
The former Deputy President left Kenya on August 26 alongside his wife, Pastor Dorcas Rigathi, for an extended US stay expected to last about 50 days.
Gachagua is scheduled to engage Kenyans living in several parts of the US as he seeks to consolidate support among the diaspora ahead of the 2027 General Election.
According to the itinerary released by DCP, his political and diaspora engagements will begin in Spokane, Washington, from September 4 to 10, followed by Portland, Oregon, from September 10 to 16. He will then proceed to Kansas from September 16 to 24, Dallas, Texas, from September 24 to October 1, and finally Boston, Massachusetts, from October 1 to 9.
The tour comes after Gachagua conducted an extensive political mobilisation campaign across the country, with the former Deputy President now turning his attention to Kenyans living abroad.
He has previously said the extended stay in America will allow him to consult the diaspora and make political decisions away from what he described as undue influence from people around him.
Gachagua has also linked the trip to preparations for the 2027 elections, saying he intends to use the period to reflect on his political future and chart the way forward.
Back home, Malala and Methu have already stepped up party activities during his absence. Methu, for instance, has been holding meetings with DCP-allied MPs as the party works to strengthen its structures and maintain its political momentum ahead of the elections.
DCP has sought to present itself as a rapidly expanding national political vehicle ahead of the 2027 General Election. The party said in May 2026 that its internal membership had surpassed 4.5 million, with Gachagua putting the figure at 4,576,345 registered members. He also claimed that the party was attracting support beyond its traditional Mount Kenya base, including in parts of the North Rift and South Rift.
The figure represents a significant increase from July 2025, when DCP said it had attracted more than 1.8 million members within its first two months. At the time, the party was already seeking to demonstrate a national footprint by fielding candidates in by-elections, including in Banisa and Malava.
The party has also been attempting to build structures outside Mount Kenya by bringing in politicians from different regions. In its May leadership changes, DCP appointed officials from Kakamega, Narok and Wajir, among other areas, in an apparent effort to project the party as a national rather than regional outfit.
Its leadership has increasingly been visible in different parts of the country. Malala, for instance, has undertaken political mobilisation in Western Kenya and in August publicly backed Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna’s presidential bid, saying he would support Sifuna and rally Luhya youth behind him.
At the same time, DCP’s growth has brought greater political scrutiny. The party has experienced disputes involving nominations, defections and disagreements among senior officials, highlighting the difficulties of transforming a relatively young party into a nationwide political machine.
