Opposition unity faces acid test as 2027 joint candidates’ battle heats up
Kalonzo Musyoka could not be any clearer to other opposition leaders hoping to be presidential candidates to go to battle with William Ruto in 2027.
“I am going for the presidency. It is now or never. If I don’t go for it now, I will never go for it,” Kalonzo declared on Wednesday.
“If I go for it now and my colleagues give me the flagship, believe you me I will not disappoint.” Kalonzo added he would not accept being reduced to a running mate again.
“It is too late for any games to be played against me as I have sacrificed enough,” he said, signaling the depth of his resolve.
Addressing congregants after a church service in Kajiado, Musyoka stressed his determination to remain steadfast.
“I have always stood with the people, and not even once have I ever betrayed the interests of my beloved country. Yes, I have been betrayed many times along the way, but my faith in God and my resolve to serve Kenya have never wavered,” he said, calling for a united, prosperous and just nation built on leadership as service.
Kalonzo: I have been betrayed many times
The opposition group knows pretty well what the situation with Kalonzo Musyoka is. Kalonzo now has hi entitlements which he is demanding from the opposition.
He feels entitled to be presidential candidate for the opposition. Kalonzo also never gets tired talking about being betrayed three times when he never ran for the presidency. He is sure he would have won all those three elections if he was the opposition presidential candidate. It is a tired story and so is Kalonzo Musyoka.
Kalonzo will be 75 years old by the time of 2027 elections and will be 80 years old in 2032 so he knows he either tries for the big seat now or just retires at home and get some work to do other than living in politics all his life and doing nothing.
The simple fact to the United Opposition group is that Kalonzo Musyoka will run for the presidency whether they nominate him or not. Case closed.
How about the opposition king himself who is now belching out loudly that he is the one to take Ruto on the presidential race in 2027.
Bristling at the suggestion that he should fight Ruto only to surrender the fruits of his struggle to others, Gachagua fired back.
“Some people have said that my work is to attack and remove Ruto and then hand over the seat to other people. Power isn’t passed over like a cigarette lighter,” Gachagua said.
“You have to demonstrate how much effort you put in to remove Ruto. How many voters have you mobilised? How many political meetings have you held and attended? Show us with evidence. Winning the election is about numbers.”
That “numbers-first” mantra has become Gachagua’s rallying cry, especially as he leans on the restive but populous Mt Kenya region.
Yet his uncompromising terms for negotiations — essentially demanding the flagbearer slot by virtue of his perceived voter muscle — have already begun to stir unease among his would-be partners. Kalonzo, for his part, has drawn a red line.
Twice a running mate to Raila Odinga, the Wiper leader says 2027 is his last shot at the presidency and he won’t settle for anything less.
“If I go for it now and my colleagues give me the flagship, believe you me I will not disappoint.” The former Vice President added.
“It is too late for any games to be played against me as I have sacrificed enough,” he said, signaling the depth of his resolve.
Meanwhile, Matiang’i, though less vocal, has been quietly building his profile as a technocratic alternative, a factor that further complicates the already tense political calculations for the opposition.
Political analysts caution that while the opposition may agree in principle on dislodging Ruto, the process of anointing a single candidate is fraught with danger.
Each aspirant sees themselves as indispensable, and none appears ready to compromise. Political analyst Calvin Muga opined that if the opposition is to stand a chance of winning the election in 2027, they have to move as a team, which means they have to agree on a formula for a joint candidate and to move forward.
“As long as there is fragmentation in the opposition, their chances of taking on [President] William Ruto will be impossible,” Muga said.
“They need to ensure they get one person who will be on the ballot. If that doesn’t happen, their chances will be very slim.”
With egos clashing, regional interests colliding and personal ambitions at their peak, the choice of a joint candidate could easily make or break the opposition alliance.
And while Kalonzo says Gachagua has the right to chest-thump, and that the opposition candidate will be a negotiated outcome, they disagree on the criteria.
Gachagua has maintained the negotiations will be based purely on numbers. Kalonzo insists considerations such as record of service and integrity — “if you have scandals” — should matter.
Kalonzo has, however, dismissed talks of a potential split, saying the “United Opposition” is a meeting of minds of leaders who have determined, through their own political parties and some individually, to be part of the change the country needs. Matiang’i has been endorsed by Jubilee as its presidential candidate, a decision that is expected to be formalised during the party’s NDC.
Gachagua, in ring-fencing Mt Kenya for his DCP party, has said Matiang’i should seek another party other than Jubilee.
Kioni accuses Gachagua of trying to bully Matiang’i in opposition talks
Already we see fights and accusations within the opposition and it is only going to get worse in the next few months as decision time for the opposition presidential candidate has to be made.
Jubilee Party Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni has accused former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua of attempting to pressure former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i during opposition coalition negotiations.
Speaking on Monday, Kioni cited that Gachagua has been pushing Matiang’i to abandon Jubilee and join talks with a smaller political outfit.
Pressure and interference
Kioni claimed that Gachagua directed Matiang’i on which party to bring into negotiations.
“Put Jubilee here, put your UDA here. And then the biggest thing, and this is not a secret, they have sat in rooms and told Matiang’i, ‘Don’t join Jubilee,’” he said.
He recalled an incident where Gachagua notably instructed Matiang’i to travel to Kisii and get a village party for negotiations.
Kioni questioned Gachagua’s authority in the matter, noting, “You tell him it out openly, in fact, on one time, you can remember Gachagua telling Matiangi, go to Kisii and come with a village party we negotiate.”
“By the way, Gachagua is not even an official of DCP. The proper officials of DCP need to speak on behalf of that party, because he is not on any record as an official of DCP.”
“And then the question is, if you really want me to come over to your table. Why are you dictating the party I should come to? Who told Gachagua to open DCP so that he could come with it? It was his choice.”
Whether the united opposition mouth pieces like it or not, they know that the myth of one united opposition is dying in their hands and all of them are going to try to squeeze that poor neck as hard as they can.
In the meantime, DCP and Gachagua still have wantam as their spiritual mantra to bring them together. It is not going to work.
Malala: Our agenda number one is Ruto being one-term president
Speaking just days after Jeremiah Kioni claimed that Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Ruto were working together, Malala dismissed the remarks as propaganda and accused Kioni of being a mole within the opposition.
In his earlier statement, Kioni had alleged that Gachagua told them Ruto had already sent emissaries to broker a political arrangement.
According to Kioni, the deal involved Gachagua mobilising seven million votes from the Mt Kenya region, one million votes from Kalonzo Musyoka, and 800,000 votes from Fred Matiang’i.
He further said the opposition must stay united and stop spreading confusion.
“To Kioni and others who are being sent to bring chaos to the United Opposition, I want to tell Kioni that if you are truly in the United Opposition and you cannot say Wantam, just know that you are a mole,” Malala declared.
“For us, we are saying that our agenda number one is that Ruto is Wantam. Before someone comes around saying they oppose the government, that person must first say Wantam,” he added.
These opposition leaders are going to kill themselves as if that is the only thing they are capable of doing. Mercifully the November 24, 2025 By-lections are knocking at the door. They have to watch out.
