Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has left Kenya for an extended tour of the United States, saying he needs time away from the country's intense political environment as he prepares for engagements with Kenyans living abroad.
Gachagua left on Wednesday night for what is expected to be a 50-day trip, beginning with a 10-day break with his wife, Pastor Dorcas Rigathi, before embarking on a series of diaspora and political engagements in several US states.
“I’m taking a 10-day break to re-energise and spend some quality time with my wife,” Gachagua said before his departure.
“I’ve not had an opportunity to spend some quality time with her,” he added, after months of political tours and consultations across the country.
The Democracy for Citizens Party leader said the trip would also give him an opportunity to reflect and make decisions about his political future away from what he described as undue influence.
“I want to make some decisions without undue influence,” Gachagua said when announcing the extended US trip.
His departure comes after a 56-day series of political consultations and countrywide engagements as he seeks to strengthen his DCP party and build alliances ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Gachagua has emerged as one of President William Ruto's fiercest critics since his removal from office in 2024 and has been pushing the Wantam campaign, which seeks to deny his former boss a second term.
Before leaving the country, he said opposition leaders were working towards a united front and would eventually settle on one candidate to challenge Ruto.
The former Deputy President has maintained that the process of choosing the opposition's presidential flag bearer should not be rushed, arguing that consultations across the country were necessary before a decision was made.
His trip, however, has drawn criticism from some of his political opponents, who have questioned both its timing and political value.
Former Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria, a long-time Mt Kenya political figure who has frequently criticised Gachagua, has suggested that the former Deputy President's US engagements should be viewed against wider political manoeuvres ahead of 2027.
Kuria has also stirred speculation about a possible reconciliation between Gachagua and Ruto, saying he could not rule out the possibility of the two former allies working together again.
Gachagua and Ruto have not publicly indicated that they are pursuing such reconciliation, and the former Deputy President has continued to position himself as a key figure in the campaign to remove the President from office in 2027.
Criticism has also come from Ruto allies who argue that Gachagua's absence from the country could weaken his political influence at a time when opposition leaders are competing to shape the anti-Ruto coalition.
President Ruto's adviser on constitutional affairs, Makau Mutua, has previously dismissed Gachagua's US political outreach, arguing that the former Deputy President's American engagements would have little impact on Kenya's political contest.
“THAT trip to the United States will yield ZERO political, or other capital — ZILCH. Not even one NDURURU!” Mutua said of Gachagua's US tour.
Gachagua's supporters, however, see the diaspora trip differently, arguing that Kenyans abroad remain an important political constituency and that the tour will allow him to engage supporters outside the country.
His itinerary includes engagements in Spokane, Washington, Portland, Oregon, Kansas, Dallas, Texas, and Boston, Massachusetts, before his expected return to Kenya.
The trip has also attracted attention because it coincides with an ongoing political and legal dispute involving the former Deputy President and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission.
Gachagua was expected to appear before the commission on Thursday over alleged inflammatory remarks, but his lawyers said he would be outside the country on a trip that had been planned before the summons was issued.
In a letter to the commission, his lawyers said Gachagua would be out of Kenya from August 26 to October 20, making it impossible for him to attend the scheduled session.
His absence leaves his DCP party facing its first major test without its most recognisable leader on the local political scene.
The former Deputy President has spent much of the year touring different parts of the country, seeking to consolidate his influence in Mt Kenya while expanding his political network beyond the region.
His critics have repeatedly accused him of concentrating on regional politics and using ethnic mobilisation to build his political base, accusations he has rejected as his fallout with Ruto has deepened.
