Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has launched a scathing attack on Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, spelling doom for his 2027 gubernatorial bid, saying that he will be a one-term governor.

While speaking during his Nairobi tour, which he began on Thursday, January 8, 2025, the former DP addressed residents in Starehe Constituency, where mammoth crowds came out to embrace the Democracy for the Citizens (DCP) leader. He began by apologising to Nairobi residents for having campaigned and convinced Nairobians to elect Sakaja.

Gachagua did not stop at Sakaja. He went ahead to urge city dwellers to also reject President William Ruto during the 2027 General Election, saying that the two should go home and do not deserve another term.

He went on to accuse both the president and the Nairobi governor of making city dwellers live in dilapidated conditions and forcing them to go through numerous tribulations. For this reason, he urged them to reject the two at the ballot in 2027.

“Mimi nakuja hapa kuomba msamaha, kwa kuwaletea Kasongo, kwa kuwaletea Sakaja. Hawa Kasongo na Sakaja wamehangaisha watu wa Nairobi; wamefanya watu wa Nairobi waishi kama swara, lakini wakati umefika tufukuze Kasongo na Sakaja waende nyumbani.” Gachagua stated

Sakaja-Gachagua relationship

Gachagua’s relationship with Sakaja has not been rosy. The two fell out after the 2022 General Election, after both assumed office. Their friction began after the city governor moved to evict matatu operators from the Central Business District (CBD) to ease traffic, a move Gachagua did not agree with and openly opposed.

The second incident was during the eviction of traders in Marikiti, when the former DP arrived with his entourage to condemn the governor’s actions, which later led to a public spat between the two.

Sakaja had been selected as one of the witnesses during Gachagua’s impeachment case but later failed to appear in the Senate to give his testimony when the then Deputy President was being accused of interfering with county government operations.

Gachagua’s political prowess

This comes at a time when Rigathi Gachagua has claimed to have influence in the city. He said that his party, DCP, will have a majority of the seats in the 2027 elections. He added that the dominance once enjoyed by the late Raila Odinga-led Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has since vanished, expressing confidence that his party will bag the majority of seats in 2027.