Senior DCP officials have launched a sustained onslaught on Jubilee, saying the two parties cannot co-exist in the mountain.
DCP Head of Communications Kenneth Njohi on Sunday said "It is practically impossible for Jubilee and DCP to co-exist harmoniously in Mt Kenya".
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Jubilee deputy party leader Fred Matiang'i and DCP leader Rigathi Gachagua
As the dust settles after the heated by-elections, tensions between DCP and Jubilee within the United Opposition have once again laid bare the persistent rivalry between the two Mt Kenya parties.
Senior DCP officials have launched a sustained onslaught on Jubilee, saying the two parties cannot co-exist in the mountain.
DCP Head of Communications Kenneth Njohi on Sunday said "It is practically impossible for Jubilee and DCP to co-exist harmoniously in Mt Kenya".
"Jubilee is a Nyanza party and does not represent the interests and aspirations of the mountain people," he said.
Ahead of the polls, DCP leader Rigathi Gachagua questioned why Jubilee’s Narok Town Ward candidate withdrew to back UDA—despite the coalition rallying behind DCP’s Douglas Masikonde.
Masikonde won with 6,007 votes against UDA’s Kanyinke Ole Kudate, who garnered 4,479.
Positioning himself as Mt Kenya’s political anchor, Gachagua accused Jubilee of undermining coalition unity and flirting with President William Ruto’s UDA.
“I don’t understand this Jubilee,” Gachagua said. “Wiper withdrew their candidate to support us, and the DP did the same. As for Jubilee, I don’t understand them. I don’t know whether they are in government or in the opposition, because I saw their candidate showing support to a UDA candidate.”
He went further, arguing that Jubilee’s behaviour reflects deeper contradictions.
“Sometimes Ruto even says he is working with Uhuru. There are also Jubilee MPs aligned with Ruto, so I honestly don’t fully understand whether Jubilee is in government or with us. But I’m not bothered, we will defeat all of them,” he said.
The jibe highlights a broader strategic battle as Gachagua works to consolidate Mt Kenya under DCP, presenting it as the region’s strongest alternative to UDA.
Gachagua has consistently expressed misgivings with both Uhuru and ex-Interior CS Fred Matiang’i.
It remains to be seen if Matiang’i and Gachagua would survive in the same house until 2027
These tensions have hampered efforts to build a united opposition front ahead of 2027.
While the coalition largely coordinated joint campaigns in the by-elections, the DCP–Jubilee rivalry remained conspicuous.
Analysts warn the feud could blunt the coalition’s momentum just as it gains national traction.
Earlier, Gachagua ally Ndegwa Njiru—eyeing the Kirinyaga Senate seat—accused Matiangi of being an NIS mole, a remark he later withdrew and apologised for.
Despite former President Uhuru Kenyatta urging a ceasefire, party foot soldiers continue to trade barbs, with DCP allies branding Jubilee a “red wheelbarrow.”
Jubilee’s Ngunjiri Wambugu has consistently attacked Gachagua, calling him a non-starter in Mt Kenya politics.
Gatanga MP Edward Muriu has accused Jubilee of dividing the region and becoming “an appendage of UDA.”
“If Uhuru really wanted to back Gachagua, he should have had a handshake with him. But I can tell you he hasn’t even called him,” Muriu said.
Gachagua has also publicly warned Jubilee’s deputy party leader against using the party as a presidential vehicle, advising him to seek “another political outfit with roots in Kisii.”
