Gachagua tests Ruto’s grip on Rift Valley in planned Emurua Dikirr tour

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A defiant former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has vowed to tour Emurua Dikirr constituency in Narok County on Friday.

The Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) said he planned to visit the constituency to thank his supporters and sensitise residents on what he described as the government’s failure to protect their land rights.

His remarks came as the political standoff over his planned visit to Emurua Dikirr continued, with leaders from both sides issuing warnings and counter-warnings ahead of his tour.

He also cited the recent Emurua Dikirr parliamentary by-election, where the DCP candidate Vincent Rotich garnered 10,760 votes against government-backed candidate David Keter, who won with 18,266 votes.

Narok Deputy Governor Tamalinye Koech and MP Keter are among leaders who have warned Mr Gachagua against visiting the constituency.

However, Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot and Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago are among Rift Valley politicians who have said Mr Gachagua is free, like any other opposition politician, to tour the region, but should not expect his visits to translate into votes for his party in the 2027 General Election.

Against the backdrop of goons being unleashed on opposition politicians in recent weeks, Mr Gachagua has challenged the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) to make good on its threats, saying no amount of violence will deter him from proceeding with his planned tour.

“So far, I have been a recipient of more than 25 violent attacks from State backed goons and rogue police officers. The attacks have not slowed me down. I am ready for many more episodes of rough treatment,” he said in Murang’a yesterday.

He said he will visit the family of former Emurua Dikirr MP Johana Ng'eno at Mogindo village on Friday to convey his condolences, five months after the legislator died in a helicopter crash.

On Wednesday, Mr Gachagua called Mama Mary Temas, the former MP’s mother, in a conversation that has since been shared on social media. He confirmed that he would visit her on Friday.

Nandi chopper crash

The DCP leader said he would use the visit to speak about what he claims to know about the death of the former MP and the failure by the government to release the findings of investigations into the February 28, 2026, helicopter crash that claimed the lives of Mr Ng'eno and five others.

The crash occurred at Chepkiep village in Mosop Constituency, Nandi County, killing Mr Ng'eno, pilot George Were, photojournalist Nick Kosgei, Kenya Forest Service officer Amos Kipngetich Rotich, teacher Carlos Robert Kibet Keter and Narok County government protocol officer Wycliff Kiprotich Rono.

The government had promised to release the findings of investigations into the crash. However, the results have yet to be made public by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), which is responsible for regulating the country’s airspace.

Mr Gachagua and the late Mr Ng'eno were known to be close allies before the impeachment proceedings against the former Deputy President began. Mr Ng'eno was among MPs who were seen to have reluctantly supported the impeachment motion.

It later emerged that the two leaders had been secretly recorded during a private meeting at a hotel in Kisumu by people believed to be from the National Intelligence Service (NIS). The recording was subsequently cited as part of the political fallout between President Ruto and Mr Gachagua.

Mr Gachagua said he would visit Emurua Dikirr on August 21 to engage residents who had supported his party in the recent parliamentary by-election.

“I will be in Emurua Dikirr on August 21, to engage the people who have rallied behind me and defied all odds to rally behind the DCP candidate in the recent parliamentary by-election. Getting 10,000 votes in a manipulated process was no mean feat,” Mr Gachagua.

The result came months after DCP caused an upset against UDA in the Narok Town civic ward by-election, in what was seen as a protest vote over the government’s unfulfilled pre-election promises and taxation.

In the November 2025 Narok Town civic by-election, DCP candidate Douglas Twala Masikonte defeated UDA candidate and former area MCA Robert Kanyinke Ole Kudate, garnering 6,007 votes against Mr Kudate’s 4,479.

MP Keter said Mr Gachagua was not welcome in Emurua Dikirr and should cancel the planned visit in the interest of peace.

“I want to warn Mr Gachagua not to set foot in Emurua Dikirr constituency as he is not welcome here. He should focus his energies elsewhere as this is a UDA party zone,” Mr Keter said.

Mr Keter accused Mr Gachagua of repeatedly insulting members of the Kalenjin community at public forums while seeking their support ahead of the 2027 election.

Mr Koech also warned that the DCP leader would not have a smooth ride during his planned tour of Narok County.

“It should be made clear to Mr Gachagua that he has stretched our patience and we will no longer take it lying down. He cannot insult us, then come to our region to seek political support,” Mr Koech said.

Mr Gachagua a and his allies, however, dismissed the threats, saying the leaders lacked the capacity to stop him from touring the area as a Kenyan and political leader.

“Let them unleash terror on us, which I am privy to information that they plan to do. But that will not stop us from the tour. We will proceed with our plans undeterred. Let us all see what they are capable of doing,” he said.

Kirinyaga woman Rep Njeri Maina urged the National Cohesion and Integration Commission to summon MP Keter over his public statements that appeared to prescribe violence on Gachagua's visit.

It will be the second time the former Deputy President is touring the South Rift region since launching his political campaign there. Last weekend, he traversed Nakuru County, where his convoy was stoned twice by groups of youths.

Senator Cheruiyot and Mr Mandago, both close allies of President Ruto, have separately said Mr Gachagua is free to tour the Rift Valley as long as he does not incite communities in the cosmopolitan region to violence.

On August 1, Senator Cheruiyot led Bomet Woman Representative Linet Chepkorir and MPs Victor Koech (Chepalungu), Alfred Mutai (Kuresoi North), Richard Yegon (Bomet East), Julius Rutto (Kesses) and Hillary Koskei (Kipkelion West) in declaring that Mr Gachagua was free to tour the region.

“In our culture as members of the Kipsigis community, we do not chase away visitors. We warmly welcome them to do their thing and leave in peace. We will turn out to cheer you up, but do not be mistaken that it will translate to votes in the 2027 General Election,” Senator Cheruiyot said.

The Kericho Senator also cited the 2017 General Election, when the NASA coalition held a major rally in Bomet town shortly before the election, but President Uhuru Kenyatta later secured 95 per cent of the vote in the county.

“We want to tell Mr Gachagua never again will we as a people of the great Rift Valley be incited to violence. We will remain united and peaceful even when we do not agree politically,” Senator Mandago said in the presence of President Ruto in Uasin Gishu on August 2.

Mr Gachagua, however, maintains that he will proceed with his planned tour, claiming that members of the Kipsigis community in the South Rift counties of Bomet, Narok and Kericho have backed him and DCP against UDA.

The Rift Valley is regarded as President Ruto’s political bedrock. However, residents have increasingly questioned the government’s commitment to development projects, with opposition strongholds appearing to receive preferential treatment, according to critics.

Reporting originally appeared via Nation Africa. Read the full source for additional context.