The just-concluded by-elections were a litmus test of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s political influence in the Mt Kenya region and a gauge of the acceptance of his Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) outside the region.

Although the DCP did not field a candidate in Mbeere North, the poll was largely seen as a barometer to measure Gachagua’s assertion that he is the “king of the mountain” and to practically examine his repeated claims that the Mt Kenya region broke ranks with President William Ruto’s UDA and that “nobody wants to hear anything associated with the Wheelbarrow Party.”