Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua will now launch the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) on July 7, a date loaded with the symbolism of Saba Saba Day and a fresh chance to woo the Maa community after weeks of venue wrangles and cancelled bookings.
Gachagua broke the news on June 23 at his Wamunyoro home, where more than 500 grassroots mobilisers from Kajiado and Narok cheered as he handed them full control of the ceremony.
“The launch was initially planned for Nairobi, but the State interfered with venue booking. I now ask the Maa community to host this important event in their region,” Gachagua told the gathering.
His plea followed the abrupt cancellation of a Sh3.7 million booking at Kasarani Indoor Arena, a setback that had already forced the party to abandon a June 3 date and hunt for a private field big enough for 40,000 to 50,000 supporters.
Sports Kenya cited preparations for the 2025 African Nations Championship as the reason for withdrawing the Kasarani slot, a move DCP officials branded “political interference.”
Confusion deepened on June 23 when fake posters claimed the party would launch on June 25, the same day civil-society groups plan to mark last year’s Gen Z protest deaths. DCP quickly flagged the posters as fake and insisted it would not overshadow the memorial.
Choosing July 7 allows Gachagua to tap into the historic resonance of Saba Saba, the 1990 pro-democracy protests that rattled Kenya’s one-party state, and to frame his party as the latest chapter in Kenya’s push for pluralism.
Maa elders welcomed the shift; some raised their herding sticks in approval and promised to “protect the meeting from hired goons,” echoing Gachagua’s claim that previous Nairobi rallies were routinely disrupted.
Embakasi North MP James Gakuya says the July launch will kick-start a two-month diaspora tour, during which Gachagua hopes to open overseas offices and court Kenyans abroad for funding and influence.
DCP deputy leader Cleophas Malala has meanwhile promised that a full manifesto – “vision, mission and agenda” – will be rolled out during the Saba Saba event, dismissing President William Ruto’s jibe that the new outfit lacks substance.
Reports indicate that the organisers are weighing two sites – Suswa in Narok and a private ranch in Kajiado – while local leaders race to arrange security, accommodation and transport for an estimated 10,000 delegates.
The former DP is betting that Saba Saba’s legacy of defiance can turbo-charge his new political home.
