Kamukunji Member of Parliament Yusuf Hassan Abdi has defected from the Jubilee Party to join former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP), in a major political shake-up ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Hassan was formally welcomed into DCP by Gachagua during a ceremony at the party’s headquarters in Nairobi on Tuesday, where he was presented with and made to wear a DCP cap before a crowd of supporters.
“I am happy to join the DCP party because it is a party that wants the best for Kenyans. It is a party that wants change for Kenyans because they are tired of bad politics,” Hassan said.
The Kamukunji MP also pledged his support for Gachagua’s presidential bid. “We are now in DCP, and we have decided to support Rigathi Gachagua in his 2027 Presidential ambitions,” he said.
Hassan has represented Kamukunji since 2011, when he won the seat on a Party of National Unity ticket. He moved to The National Alliance in 2013 before joining Jubilee in 2017, and was re-elected for a fourth term in 2022 with 34,264 votes, beating UDA’s Robow Hassan, who polled 22,644 votes.
Welcoming him, Gachagua said the move would strengthen DCP’s footing in Nairobi and open up more room for the Somali community within the party’s leadership.
Hassan’s exit adds to a growing list of politicians crossing over to DCP, including Embakasi West MP Mark Mwenje, Roysambu MP Martin Kamande and Embakasi Central MP Benjamin Gathiru, among others who attended the Nairobi event. Several Nairobi Jubilee ward representatives were also received into the party the same day, brought in by former Starehe MP Maina Kamanda.
Gachagua has in recent weeks turned his political base into a hub for consultations with leaders and delegations from across the country, as he pushes for a united opposition front to challenge President William Ruto in 2027.
Hassan’s switch is expected to reshape the political contest in Kamukunji and could influence urban political alignments in Nairobi more broadly, as Jubilee continues to lose ground to DCP in several of its former strongholds.
The defection comes just a day after Nyandarua Governor Kiarie Badilisha and Murang’a Governor Irungu Kang’ata also shifted allegiance to DCP from the ruling UDA party, underlining the pace at which Gachagua’s outfit is expanding beyond Mt Kenya.
