Gachagua: Why I am eligible to run for presidency in 2027
By Joel Masibo, August 27, 2025Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has insisted on his bid to vie for the 2027 presidential contest, saying he will be on the ballot despite ongoing court battles.
Speaking on a local TV station on Tuesday night, August 26, 2025, the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader argued that the constitution and ongoing court processes preserve his eligibility to remain a candidate in the 2027 presidential race, provided the court rules in favour of his 2024 impeachment.
Gachagua’s declaration comes more than a year after Parliament impeached and the Senate removed him from the Deputy President’s office, a sequence of events that has since produced a string of legal challenges and a tug-of-war with the current administration, led by President William Ruto, who has turned out to be his political nemesis ahead of the 2007 general election.
Speaking on Tuesday, Gachagua framed his candidacy as lawful and resolute. “I am qualified, and I have support,” he said, asserting that the Constitution allows someone to seek elective office while they still have legal remedies to pursue and before the highest court hands down a final determination.
He further noted that the Supreme Court had not issued a conclusive ruling on the impeachment process that removed him.
”I am qualified, and I have support. The Constitution guarantees your right to vie for elective office even if you have been convicted, if you have not exhausted the remedies available in law. The Supreme Court has not made a ruling on my impeachment,” Gachagua declared.
Impeachment
In October 2024, Kenya’s National Assembly approved articles of impeachment against the deputy president, and the Senate later upheld the removal by voting to dismiss him on five of the 11 charges, a historic outcome for the office of the deputy president. The charges ranged from alleged corruption and abuse of office to fomenting ethnic divisions, allegations Gachagua has consistently dismissed as politically motivated.
Shortly after his removal, Gachagua launched multiple legal challenges contesting the validity of aspects of the impeachment process and the way the parliamentary proceedings were conducted.
Kenyan constitutional practice recognises that a person convicted of an offence may still attempt to run for office while appealing a conviction; the key threshold is whether a legal bar has finally crystallised (for example, through an exhausted appeals process or a definitive disqualification under the law). Gachagua’s argument follows that line: because the court processes he has initiated remain active, and because there has been no final Supreme Court judgement affirming a permanent disqualification, he contends the Constitution still permits him to stand.
Since his removal, Gachagua has kept an active public profile, travelling to meet supporters abroad and dealing with domestic politics. He has also moved to formalise a political vehicle: earlier this year, he unveiled the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) ahead of the 2027 polls.