Gachagua Links Break With Ruto to Youth Protest Crackdown, Launches New Party Ahead of July 7

Nyeri County, Kenya – Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has publicly tied his political split from President William Ruto to the government’s violent response to last year’s Gen Z-led protests, marking a sharp escalation in the ongoing political realignment within Kenya’s ruling elite.

Addressing a forum of local leaders in Nyeri, Gachagua announced that he will officially unveil his new political outfit — the Democratic Change Party (DCP) — on July 7, a date heavy with symbolic weight as the anniversary of the 2024 youth protests over rising living costs and corruption.

“They [the youth] have a right to be heard,” Gachagua declared. “What happened last year was a betrayal of their hopes, and I refuse to be part of a government that met peaceful protest with violence.”

Gachagua’s comments represent his most pointed rebuke yet of President Ruto’s administration, and his decision to align politically with the concerns of disillusioned youth signals an effort to redefine his political base ahead of the 2027 elections.

The former Deputy President further accused state agencies of obstructing the registration of the DCP, suggesting a coordinated effort to derail his political comeback. His ally, Kajiado North MP Onesmus Ngogoyo, added to the warning tone by reminding security forces of their constitutional mandate to protect — not suppress — peaceful demonstrators.

“We will not accept another chapter of bloodshed in the name of order,” Ngogoyo said, referencing the violent clashes that characterized the state’s response to last year’s protests.

Gachagua’s July 7 launch is expected to coincide with nationwide youth-led commemorations of the protests, a move seen by analysts as an attempt to channel grassroots frustration into an organized political movement.

The emerging Democratic Change Party is positioning itself as a home for youth, reformists, and those disillusioned by the current political order, setting up a potentially potent challenge to the Kenya Kwanza coalition’s dominance in Mount Kenya and beyond.

With tensions rising and the memory of last year’s protests still raw, Gachagua’s pivot may mark not just a personal rebrand, but the start of a broader generational and ideological shift in Kenyan politics.