Todays comments by DCP Party Leader Rigathi Gachagua at Dominion Christian Church in Kasarani have once again revived a troubling debate in Kenya’s political culture: the creeping normalisation of ethnic entitlement.
Standing alongside Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka and other opposition figures, Gachagua declared that Kasarani is his “stronghold” and that Wiper must support Kikuyu candidates in Nairobi—remarks made in reference to an alleged agreement that the capital’s seats will be ceded to leaders from one community.
Such statements are not just politically careless; they strike at the heart of Kenya’s constitutional vision. Nairobi is not a tribal homeland.
It is a cosmopolitan city whose strength lies in its diversity—home to every Kenyan community and countless people who simply want fair representation, reliable leadership, and a politics that respects merit over ethnicity. To insist that only one ethnic group deserves elected positions in a city of over four million people is to roll Kenya backwards into a logic the country has repeatedly tried to outgrow.
Kasarani itself illustrates this reality. Its residents come from across the country. Its character is shaped by a blend of cultures, religions, income levels, and identities. To suggest that leadership must be restricted to one community is to ignore the constituency’s true nature. Worse, it implies that citizenship is less important than tribe—an argument that undermines national cohesion and deepens suspicion among communities.
What’s more, the comments place Kalonzo Musyoka in an uncomfortable position. Any political negotiation perceived as trading entire counties or constituencies along ethnic lines damages the credibility of leaders who hope to project themselves as national unifiers. Such deals, real or imagined, weaken the moral force of opposition politics.
Kenya deserves leaders who build bridges, not boundaries. Ethnic gatekeeping may energize small bases, but it fractures the national fabric—and Nairobi, of all places, cannot afford such division.
