Recently, there have been mounting speculations that Cleophas Malala, the interim deputy party leader of the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP), has left his boss, Rigathi Gachagua, and rejoined the United Democratic Alliance (UDA).

This conclusion was reached due to his prolonged silence and failure to accompany Gachagua in his recent rallies, as he had in the past, when the two were often seen visiting several places together.

Malala had worked hard for his party, DCP, and delivered a huge win for the party last year during the Kisia East ward by-election, where the party’s candidate, Dickson Aduda, won over the Democratic Action Party (DAP-K) candidate, hence giving the party bragging rights and at least shading the narrative, although not much, that had been labelled against the party, that it is a tribal party and can only enjoy support within the Mount Kenya region.

Malala hasn’t defected

From the look of things, the former Kakamega senator is among the politicians you can never want to miss on your team, and if he is on the opposite side, prepare for tough rebuttals since he can say anything to survive politically or defend himself thanks to his crowd-pulling skills and his drama script-writing skills that have seen him write award-winning plays, some of which have brought the country to a standstill.

Malala is still with the former deputy president and might not have moved an inch away from his current political boss. The two found themselves on the same side after Gachagua’s impeachment in 2024, after Malala was also chased out of the UDA party, where he was serving as secretary general.

The speculations of a possible rift between Gachagua and Malala grew larger after Gachagua failed to attend Malala’s annual tournament, which is usually the biggest tournament in Kenya and culminates on the eve of the New Year.

In 2024, Gachagua was the one who graced the Super Cup, and even before proceeding to Mumias Sports Ground, he held a media interview with local media stations from the Mulembe region.

Malala Gachagua’s last meeting

The last time the two were spotted together was during the United Opposition’s visit to the home of former late Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo on December 16, 2025. Since then, the two have not yet been seen together.

However, Cleophas Malala has made it a tradition that when he is not around his party leader, his media team is there to air whatever event Gachagua is gracing or attending. This was evident during Gachagua’s DCP continental tour in the United States of America that went on for over a month.

The meetings that Gachagua used to engage with Kenyans in the diaspora were aired on Malala’s social media pages. The same continued even when he was back in Kenya; it never stopped.

Even during times when concerns about Malala’s whereabouts are growing larger and stronger, his technical team has been part of Gachagua’s entourage for the recent past, with the latest being eight days ago, when the former deputy president was holding a presser at his home in Nyeri.

after various accusations had been levelled against him concerning remarks he had earlier made on leaders drawn from Northern Kenya, particularly on poor development in the Northern Corridor vis-à-vis the billions of money that have been released there since the advent of devolution.

Malala airing Gachagua’s events

He also aired Gachagua’s attendance at the funeral of the mother of Embakasi North MP James Gakuya. During Gachagua’s recent tours around Nairobi in Gikomba and Starehe, his media team was also present.

They were present when Gachagua visited Kipipiri during the burial of the father of Kipipiri Member of Parliament Wanjiku Muhia. Gachagua then held a meet-the-people rally in Kinangop town on January 7, 2025.

Although his silence might be louder, his almost a month of not accompanying Gachagua might speak volumes, but he has been airing his party leader’s meet-the-people tours and various public engagements, something he has made a tradition since way back.

Koimburi’s defection

This comes at a time when there are defections from the DCP camp, with some going back to the government side, the latest being Juja MP John Koimburi. He left Gachagua after his opponent in 2027 began growing a bromance with the former DP, a move that did not sit down well with him.