Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has handed his two senior lieutenants, Cleophas Malala and Senator John Methu, responsibility for keeping his Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) politically active in Kenya as he continues his engagements in the United States.
In a brief message on Sunday, Gachagua said he had tasked his deputy party leader Mr Malala and Secretary-General designate Mr Methu to maintain contact with Kenyans and articulate their concerns while he is away.
“While away engaging Kenyans in the United States of America, I have tasked my team led by my Deputy Party Leader Cleophas Malala and DCP Party Secretary General Designate Senator John Methu to continue listening to the people and speaking for them,” Mr Gachagua said.
“God Bless Kenya,” he added.
The assignment comes as DCP seeks to strengthen its structures and position itself ahead of the 2027 General Election, with Mr Gachagua using his US tour to engage Kenyans in the diaspora.
His decision to specifically name Malala and Mr Methu also offers a glimpse into the party's emerging power structure, with the two officials expected to keep the political machinery running while their leader is abroad.
Malala has previously moved to dispel suggestions that his relationship with Mr Gachagua had deteriorated, describing reports of a split as propaganda designed to weaken the opposition.
“Since the Ruto administration knows it will go home, today it has sponsored propaganda that Rigathi Gachagua and I have differed. I want to tell those people spreading such propaganda that Gachagua and I are very much united,” Malala said in June.
The remarks were significant given speculation that Malala could be drifting away from DCP and towards President William Ruto's political camp.
Gachagua himself has previously defended Mr Malala, describing him as “a very able young man” while responding to a disagreement over the appointment of former UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi to an opposition secretariat.
“I have spoken to Malala and advised him to calm down about this,” Gachagua said at the time.
He argued that while younger politicians had an important role to play, political leadership also required experience.
“We have GenZ leaders and we know they will do well, but we must find someone with experience to guide them,” he said.
Mr Methu, meanwhile, has emerged as an increasingly visible figure in the party's political operations.
His visibility has grown particularly since Mr Gachagua left the country. A day after the DCP leader's departure, Methu brought together DCP-allied MPs from Nairobi for a strategic meeting to map out the party's activities in the capital.
The Nyandarua Senator has increasingly moved beyond the traditional organisational role associated with the Secretary-General's office, taking part in political mobilisation, defending party members and coordinating elected leaders.
The development has raised questions about the balance of power within DCP, particularly between Mr Malala, who is formally the party's second-in-command, and Mr Methu, whose political visibility has grown rapidly.
