Three political parties from the Mt. Kenya region have pushed back against calls to fold into the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) led by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. Representatives from the Party of National Unity (PNU) led by Peter Munya, the Democratic Party (DP) led by Justin Muturi, and the Democratic Empowerment Party (DEP) led by Lenny Kivuti urged political actors to prioritize dialogue, respect party autonomy, and conduct broad consultations before forming alliances.
Rejecting unilateral directives, Munya, Muturi, and Kivuti urged Gachagua to refrain from polarizing statements and instead engage in structured consultations with like-minded political groups. Munya pointed out that Gachagua lacks the mandate to speak for all political leaders and parties across the Mt. Kenya region, stressing that every party must preserve its independence.
“Gachagua has not been appointed or mandated to speak on behalf of all the people or all parties in the Mt Kenya region,” Munya stated.
The former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary stressed that leaders should handle political differences through constructive dialogue rather than public attacks, noting that exercising restraint does not mean agreeing to every proposal.
“Restraint should not be mistaken for acquiescence,” Munya said.
He called on Gachagua to encourage collaborative engagement among political organizations instead of airing views that could cause divisions among leaders.
“We call upon Honourable Gachagua to desist from divisive pronouncements and instead embrace structured dialogue, consultation, and respectful engagement among all like-minded political parties,” he said.
Munya maintained that sustainable political alliances rely on equal standing, mutual trust, and institutional autonomy.
“Durable political partnerships are built on equality, trust, and respect for institutional autonomy,” he said.
He also warned against attempting to dismantle other political outfits to establish regional dominance, noting that such moves undermine democratic growth.
“It is worth noting that we cannot pretend to be growing our parties while simultaneously knocking out others to own specific regions,” he said.
While acknowledging past friction between his camp and DCP leaders, the former CS stressed that citizens must retain total freedom when choosing their political affiliations.
“We must stop threatening those of diverse backgrounds and beliefs about their political standing in order to grow democracy,” Munya said.
He pointed out that true democracy cannot normalize joining one specific party while treating support for other entities as problematic.
“It cannot be that one is okay joining DCP, but bad if they join other parties. One people, one agenda,” he said.
