Embakasi North MP James Gakuya has lifted the lid on the high-stakes strategy meeting convened by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua at the Coast, revealing a bold blueprint to wrestle the Mt Kenya vote from President Ruto’s grip ahead of 2027.

The three-day retreat, held at a secluded resort in Kilifi, brought together the top brass of Gachagua’s Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP). According to Gakuya, the meeting was not just a retreat but a "war council" designed to review past failures and map out a hostile takeover of the central region’s political soul.

The "Wantam" Strategy

Gakuya, a close confidant of the ousted DP, disclosed that the retreat focused on "cleaning house." The party leadership conducted a brutal post-mortem of recent by-elections and the wave of defections that has rocked the outfit. The new strategy, dubbed "Wantam" (Unity), aims to consolidate the GEMA community by painting the current administration as a betrayer of the region’s economic interests.

"We are done crying," Gakuya told reporters. "This retreat was about systems. We are putting in place a methodology to ensure that when we issue a direct nomination, it is respected. We are professionalizing the opposition."

• The Roll Call: The meeting was attended by loyalist MPs including Wanjiku Muhia (Kipipiri), Gitonga Mukunji (Manyatta), and Jayne Kihara (Naivasha). Their presence signals that despite state intimidation, a core group of legislators is willing to sink or swim with Gachagua.
• 2027 Roadmap: The team drafted an aggressive calendar for 2026, which includes a "whistle-stop" tour of 14 counties. They plan to bypass mainstream media and use grassroots networks to radicalize voters against the ruling UDA party.

A Fight for Survival

The retreat comes at a critical time. With President Ruto making inroads into Nyeri and Murang'a through development tours, Gachagua’s influence is under siege. The "Kilifi Declaration" emerging from this meeting is his answer: a vow to make the Mountain ungovernable for UDA.

"They thought impeaching him would kill him politically," Gakuya sneered. "They only freed him to fight without gloves. 2027 begins now."