A fierce showdown is brewing as officials from the newly formed Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) slam Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and Kenya Kwanza leaders for branding them tribal.

They outrightly rejected the label and called for greater political tolerance and respect.

They said President William Ruto forced their leader, Rigathi Gachagua, out of the ruling party and should not interfere in the affairs of the new party he formed.

Speaking in Mau Narok, DCP deputy secretary general Martin Ole Kamwaro said the current leadership has been frustrating their party leader as punishment for standing firm on his principles.

“We need political tolerance in this country. They frustrated him even while he was in the hospital and pushed him out of office. It’s inhumane to label him a tribal leader and accuse him of forming a tribal party, especially when I am Maasai, the party chairman is from Kajiado, and many others come from different regions,” he said.

He described the attack on them during the party’s unveiling as callous and unwarranted, adding that political leaders should show decency by respecting others’ political expressions.

Kamwaro said that they will not relent in popularising their party and ensuring that Kenyans buy their idea of redeeming the country from leaders they allege have vanquished the treasure of the country

He said they will continue to pressure the Kenyan people to engage in discussions about the future and ensure the current leaders are removed from office in the upcoming elections.

Stanley Karanja, secretary-general of MCAs Caucus in Kenya and MCA for Naivasha East, said top government leaders, led by Kindiki, have been campaigning to discredit the launch of the new party, portraying it as a tribal organisation.

“Cleophas Malala is not from Gachagua’s ethnic community, nor is the Secretary General. It’s barbaric to wage a tribal war against people exercising their constitutional right under Article 38," he said.

He said that government leaders and sympathisers have been dispatched across all corners of the country to discredit their party and try to wage a political war that is so sensitive to the cohesion of the country.

“They have mistreated our leader big time, now they are crisscrossing the country trying to box him to the corner, DP Kindiki said he is assisting the president, he seems to have been dispatched to carry out the assignment of battling Gachagua politically," he said.

Gachagua launched the new party on Thursday, May 15, vowing to challenge the current administration.

Hours earlier, Ruto’s allies in Kenya Kwanza, led by his aide Farouk Kibet, accused Gachagua of fostering division within his new party.

Speaking in Kibwezi West, Makueni county, Kibet said Gachagua had been ousted due to tribal politics and was now attempting to advance his agenda through the DCP party.

Reinforcing Kibet’s comments, Japheth Nyakundi, MP for Kitutu Chache North, also criticised Gachagua’s party, downplaying its chances.

Nyakundi, seemingly referencing the disorder at Gachagua’s DCP launch in Lavington, Nairobi, described the party as disorganised.

Source: TUKO.co.ke