Former Deputy President and Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua is taking his political mobilisation into one of the country’s most closely watched battlegrounds, with a two-day tour of Nakuru this weekend aimed at testing the party’s appeal beyond its traditional Mount Kenya base.

Mr Gachagua and a team of opposition leaders will begin the tour in Naivasha on Friday, August 14, before moving through Nakuru Town East and Nakuru Town West constituencies. On Saturday, the team is expected to visit Njoro, Elburgon, Turi, Molo, Kibunja and Rongai.

The tour comes at a critical stage in the realignment of political forces ahead of the 2027 General Election, with Mr Gachagua increasingly stepping up grassroots mobilisation as he seeks to build a national coalition capable of challenging President William Ruto and the Kenya Kwanza administration.

Nakuru will be particularly important to the former deputy president because of its unique political character. Often described as “Mt Kenya in the diaspora,” the county sits at the intersection of the Mount Kenya and Rift Valley voting blocs and has historically attracted intense competition among national political formations.

For DCP, therefore, the Nakuru tour is more than another stop in Mr Gachagua’s countrywide mobilisation drive. It will provide an early test of whether the political momentum generated in parts of Mount Kenya can be translated into a county whose electorate is significantly more diverse and whose politics have traditionally been shaped by shifting alliances.

Also Read: Gachagua's verdict on Ruto: Four wasted years