MP Kagombe heckled in front of Gachagua after defecting from UDA

Gatundu South MP Gabriel Kagombe was heckled by residents in his constituency as he addressed a Democracy for Citizens Party rally, exposing the political difficulties facing his recent defection.

The MP, who recently left the United Democratic Alliance, was immediately heckled as soon as he was invited to address the crowd by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.

Kagombe sought to win over the hostile crowd by presenting his move to DCP as a political transformation, likening himself to Saul, the biblical figure who became Paul after his conversion.

However, residents jeered and throughout his speech while waving their DCP hats.

“I came here as Saul, but now I have become Paul. I have thrown away this hat. Put this one on me because I have joined the DCP,” Kagombe said as he removed and threw away his cap, putting on the DCP-branded one.

The reception came after Kagombe, who was elected Gatundu South MP on a UDA ticket in 2022, made a dramatic political shift from the ruling party to Gachagua’s opposition outfit.

Kagombe had earlier cited growing disillusionment among his constituents over unfulfilled government promises, particularly stalled Mau Mau roads and unmet commitments to tea farmers, as some of his reasons for his shift.

He told Gachagua that he was willing to undergo the party’s vetting process and have his political record scrutinised before being fully accepted into the DCP camp.

He appealed to the party leadership to examine his conduct and political history, saying he would not return to the political camp he had abandoned. He also thanked Gatundu residents for accepting him despite the hostile reception during his address.

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“Najua hapa kuna vetting committee. Your excellency, mimi nimekubali. Tukae nao, waniangalie, watu wa akina Gacheri, watu wa akina Thang’wa, waniangalie kwa makini na waseme kama mimi nafaa…”

Kagombe’s defection is part of a wider political realignment in Central Kenya, where several leaders who backed President William Ruto in the 2022 election are reassessing their political alliances ahead of the 2027 General Election.

Gachagua, who took over the microphone after Kagombe’s address, leaders supporting Ruto but willing to decamp to the opposition will have to face the electorate.

“I have told all these leaders who are with Ruto that I have no problem with them. Let them come to the people. It is the people who decide,” Gachagua said.

The former deputy president has been using DCP to build a political base across Mt Kenya and is working with other opposition leaders to popularise a united opposition movement ahead of the 2027 elections.

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