Rigathi Gachagua Rebuts Muturi Over Numbers, Defends Three-Bloc Alliance

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Tuesday November 3, 2026 at his Wamunyoro residence in Nyeri rebuked Democratic Party leader Justin Muturi and Jubilee Party leader Fred Matiang'i, defending his proposal for a three-bloc opposition alliance and insisting that electoral numbers must be discussed.

Gachagua challenged Muturi to prove his ability to mobilise voters, pointing to an MCA contest in Evurore where a DP candidate obtained only 35 votes while a candidate linked to President William Ruto’s camp received 238.

He said the opposition must demonstrate how many votes it can deliver before talking about merging support bases, noting that with an expected 26 million registered voters the coalition must aim for at least 13 million plus one.

Gachagua said he had met with opposition figures including Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka and DAP-K leader Eugene Wamalwa to discuss their voter-mobilisation targets. He reiterated his plan to combine the Mt Kenya, Ukambani and Western Kenya blocs.

Referring to the 2022 General Election, he claimed his mobilisation efforts helped secure President William Ruto’s victory. He described himself as a “believer of numbers” and asserted that votes cannot be found in hotels or on television.

He accused some opposition colleagues of spending too much time in hotels and boardrooms rather than grassroots campaigning and said some are uncomfortable discussing numbers.

Muturi had a day earlier warned that Gachagua’s insistence on bloc arrangements risked weakening United Opposition unity and putting personal and regional interests ahead of a common presidential candidate.

Matiang'i described Gachagua’s numerical proposal as “majoritarian arrogance” that could split the opposition and labelled his approach as bullying and arrogant.

National Organising Secretary of the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP), Mithika Linturi, urged Muturi to avoid divisions in the Mt Kenya region, recalling that DCP had withdrawn its candidate in Mbeere to give a DP candidate a chance, a move he said did not deliver the expected result. He also addressed Matiang'i, calling him a “crying baby” and asking him to return to Kisii to consolidate his supporters.

Linturi cited a dispute over candidates in Ol Kalou where the candidate his party advised against fielding secured about 20 votes while DCP won the race.