A major cash crunch has hit the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP), throwing former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s highly publicized two-month tour of the United States into limbo.
Insiders reveal that by the 30th of June, the party had only managed to raise KSh 12.5 million—far below the KSh 50 million target set for the trip and the planned party launch.
According to multiple DCP aspirants and party officials who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, frustrations are mounting over what they term as “unreasonable financial demands” from Gachagua’s team.
“We were told each Mt. Kenya county must raise KSh 10 million—KSh 5 million to fund the USA tour and another KSh 5 million to print party t-shirts and banners,” said one aspirant. “But truthfully, many of us are struggling. We are two years to the election and still trying to find our political footing.”
The aspirants accuse Gachagua of treating the party like his personal property, with little transparency on how funds are used or who makes the key decisions. “We only hear things through WhatsApp forwards and closed-door meetings,” said a senior official. “No one in the NEC knows the full itinerary or budget of this tour. We’re just told to pay up.”
The US tour, which was meant to cover five cities—including Dallas, Seattle, and Boston—was set to feature town halls with the diaspora and meetings with investors. But with the funds falling short, party insiders say it may be scaled down or postponed altogether.
Another aspirant summed it up sharply: “We joined DCP to build a movement, not to finance someone’s world tour.”
As murmurs of discontent grow, Gachagua’s grip on the party may be facing its first real test—one not at the ballot, but at the bank.
