Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has clarified that the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) has not endorsed Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna as its preferred presidential candidate for the 2027 General Election, distancing the party from remarks made by deputy leader Cleophas Malala.
Gachagua said Malala’s comments reflected his personal views rather than an official party decision, insisting that only the party leader or secretary general is authorised to communicate DCP’s official position.
“First and foremost, the deputy party leader Cleophas Malala is not the spokesman of DCP. The spokesman of the DCP is the secretary general or the party leader. So, that is not the party position. That is his personal opinion and he is allowed, by the way,” Gachagua said.
The former deputy president suggested that Malala’s remarks were intended to appeal to political interests in Western Kenya, where Sifuna enjoys support.
“When he is speaking in Western, he is speaking what the people of Western would want to hear, and he is a good politician. So, the people of Western Kenya naturally would want Sifuna to be the flag bearer,” he said.
Gachagua further disclosed that Malala had been trying to convince him to back Sifuna’s presidential ambitions, adding that the deputy party leader was free to pursue that effort as long as his personal preferences were not presented as the party’s official stance.
“He would want to persuade Wiper Patriotic Front leader Kalonzo Musyoka and persuade me to support Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna. It is within his right. By the way, there is nothing wrong. In fact, he has tried to persuade me. That is true. I give it to him. He has tried to persuade me. He is still persuading me,” Gachagua said.
He added that he had advised Malala to make it clear that he was expressing an individual opinion and not announcing a formal decision by DCP.
Gachagua reiterated that the party had not officially settled on Sifuna as its presidential candidate, warning against interpreting Malala’s remarks as an endorsement.
“He doesn’t speak for the party. The party spokesman is either the party leader or the secretary general. That is not the official party position, and I cannot persuade Kalonzo to support Sifuna,” he said.
