Mbeere North MP Leonard Wamuthende has dared former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua to field candidates using his Democracy for Citizens (DCP) party in Evurore and Muminji wards.

Speaking during an interview on Tuesday, January 20, 2025, the newly elected lawmaker, who won the Mbeere North November 27, 2025, by-election with a razor-thin margin, challenged Gachagua to field candidates using his own DCP party to avoid distancing himself by claiming that he never lost in Mbeere North since his party did not have a candidate.

This was how Gachagua defended himself following the loss of the Justin Muturi-led Democratic Party (DP) in last year’s by-election.

Wamuthende further stated that if Gachagua believes he has the political muscle and that Mount Kenya is fully behind him, he should go ahead and field candidates in the two wards slated for by-elections on February 26, 2026. T

The wards were left vacant following the exit of Newton Karish, the DP candidate who lost to him in the mini-polls, and Duncan Mbui, who was serving as the Member of County Assembly (MCA) for Evurore Ward before vacating his seat to also contest for the Mbeere North seat, where he came a distant third after using Moses Kuria’s Chama Cha Kazi party.

“I know at some point, Gachagua said he didn’t have a candidate in Mbeere North, but we are saying he was told to bring candidates. He never did that. Even as we speak, we have a byelection in my constituency, Muminji and Evuore ward.

We are telling him to bring his candidate so that when we beat him, he doesn’t say, “It wasn’t me.” Wamuthende stated

He went on to state that there is no way Gachagua can distance himself from the United Opposition’s loss in Mbeere, noting that his party never had a candidate there and that he personally never lost.

During the by-election campaigns, Gachagua was ever present and pitched camp in Mbeere North, conducting early morning door-to-door walks to popularise his candidate, Newton Karish, who eventually met his Waterloo after being defeated by about 300 votes.

According to Wamuthende, it was against Mbeere taboos for Gachagua to visit people’s homes during his campaigns.

February 26, byelections

This comes at a time when the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party, following its victory in Mbeere North, has decided to field candidates in the two by-election centres in Muminji and Evurore.

President William Ruto’s party has already conducted its party primaries, which ended on January 10, 2025, where Peterson Njiru was awarded the UDA ticket for Muminji and Duncan Nyaga was awarded the ticket for Evurore Ward after garnering 2,793 and 3,578 votes, respectively, in the party primaries.

Kabras west by-elections

Elsewhere in Kabras West, where David Ndakwa resigned as MCA to contest for the Malava by-election seat, where he won over Seth Panyako of the Democratic Action Party (DAP-K), UDA has also conducted party primaries.

Eliphas Shalakha was elected as the party’s flagbearer for the ward by-election and is now set to face DAP-K candidate Nivah Musa.