Kimemia quits Jubilee for Gachagua’s DCP as Mount Kenya realignment deepens

Former Nyandarua Governor Francis Kimemia’s defection to the Democracy for the Citizens Party marks the most significant yet in a rapidly accelerating exodus from Jubilee ahead of the 2027 General Election.

By Grace Wanja

Former Nyandarua Governor Francis Kimemia yesterday abandoned Jubilee to join the Democracy for the Citizens Party, dealing a fresh blow to the ruling coalition’s foothold in the Mount Kenya region and signalling a deepening political realignment with less than ten months to the August 2027 General Election.

Kimemia, a founding member of Jubilee and one of its most recognisable faces in the region, was received by DCP leader Rigathi Gachagua, who announced the defection on social media. The former Deputy President said he was “happy to welcome” Kimemia, framing the move as evidence of DCP’s growing momentum across Kenya’s most electorally decisive voting bloc.

“Despite his longstanding relationship with the Jubilee Party as a founding member, he had heeded the wishes of his people, who advised him to align with their aspirations,” Gachagua said, commending Kimemia for “listening to and respecting the wishes of his people.”

The defection is significant for several reasons. Kimemia served two terms as Nyandarua’s second governor and retains a substantial political following in a county that sits squarely within the Mount Kenya bloc — the region Gachagua has staked his entire political project on consolidating. His arrival at DCP is not merely a symbolic gesture; it represents the transfer of an organised grassroots network at precisely the moment the party is positioning itself to become a parliamentary majority force.

Gachagua used the occasion to outline DCP’s immediate electoral ambitions, pledging free and fair party nominations in March next year and expressing determination to secure majority representation in both Houses of Parliament and the Council of Governors.

The defection lands as Jubilee struggles to retain relevance in a landscape it once dominated. President William Ruto’s fallout with Gachagua, culminating in the former Deputy President’s impeachment in October 2024, effectively fractured the original Kenya Kwanza coalition and set in motion a series of defections that have yet to run their course.

For Kimemia, the move reflects a calculation shared by a growing number of Mount Kenya politicians: that in 2027, proximity to Gachagua is more valuable than loyalty to a party whose national standing has sharply declined.

The future, as Gachagua put it, is green.

Some of the moments as captured in pictures

The post Kimemia quits Jubilee for Gachagua’s DCP as Mount Kenya realignment deepens appeared first on The Mt Kenya Times.