For all practical purposes, John Methu is now the official hero of the entire United Opposition team after delivering victory for the group at the Ol Kalou by-elections.
As far as the opposition team is concerned, Methu is only second to Gachagua in the leadership chain of the opposition. Kalonzo Muysoka for all Kenyans can see now is just floating around with no agenda as usual but worse with no clue where to go as an aspiring presidential candidate.
Here is how things could get very tough for the opposition. We already know that if Gachagua gives Kalonzo the presidential ticket to face William Ruto in 2027, Kalonzo will meet John Methu already sitting in the DP seat and he will have to be very nice to him so the new big man and his boss can support Musyoka for the big seat.
Here is possible complication in the race that could cause total chaos. If the opposition team agree on a nomination process where delegates will vote and choose who they want to be the presidential candidate after Gachagua is barred by the courts, John Methu will be free to put his name as the top candidate and let the delegates make their choice.
After Ol Kalou that Methu guy can beat Kalonzo Musyoka when the delegates are allowed to pick the opposition presidential candidate.
If that happens Kalonzo may have to settle for the DP job or just quit politics altogether and Gachagua will pick somebody as Methu’s DP in the fight to beat Ruto in 2027.
Edwin Sifuna would be a perfect DP candidate for John Methu who also fits in with the Gen Z politics in Kenya today as a 35-year-old as opposed to the 74-year-old Kalonzo. Trying to figure out how the opposition math works with that is the impossible part.
The great news for Gachagua if his own little guy, John Methu, gets the presidential job then the man will be sent home by Gachagua on the first day after swearing in ceremony and State House from that day becomes Rigathi Gachagua’s new Wamunyoro.
Oh, come on, who can have problems with such a grand plan. It will be party every day at State House and to hell with all those problems that Kenyans have to deal with today.
The bottom line is that John Methu will either be Presidential or DP candidate for the opposition and that is not going to be negotiable with Gachagua after Ol Kalou. The idea of Rigathi Gachagua supporting and going to war for an opposition presidential ticket without a Kikuyu on the list of two does not exist and that is why Gachagua will be preaching about his 7 million votes every day.
Where are all the others looking for opposition positions going to go? When the million opposition combos don’t work, things will just fall apart and every one of those hunting for opposition seats will have to pick themselves up somewhere in May 2027 as the deadline for nomination comes down. How do they streamline the whole process to make everybody happy? That is their problem to deal with and it is going to be hard on all of them.
In fact, that is the question that even Rigathi Gachagua has no answers for right now. That Time is beginning to knock the opposition door and it is going to be very loud. What comes next nobody knows.
On the other side, a group like Linda Mwanainchi is still struggling on where to go to be part of the United Opposition team. They have Kalonzo hoping to bring them in and that can only be done with Gachagua promising a few seats for the Linda squad to contest in 2027 and that is hard as a rock right now because there are so many groups trying to find room in a place which is already full to the roof top.
Linda Mwananchi dismisses alliance with Jubilee statement as fake
Kenya’s political battlefield appears to be shifting everyday now.
Today, Linda Mwananchi has dismissed a purported political alliance with the Jubilee Party after a document circulating online claimed the two formations had agreed to work together ahead of the next general election.
Taking to their X handle on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, the movement has termed the statement as fake, distancing itself from the document that hinted that a new political partnership had been forged between the Jubilee Party and the Linda Mwananchi Movement to offer Kenyans what it described as a “credible third force”.
The document, dated Wednesday, July 22, 2026, stated that the alliance would bring together the Jubilee Party under the leadership of Fred Matiang’i and the Linda Mwananchi Movement associated with Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, under the political patronage of former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The statement further noted that the coalition aimed to provide an alternative political platform to the current Kenya Kwanza administration and the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) led by former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua.
According to the purported statement, the coalition would focus on economic recovery, institutional renewal and national unity while embarking on a nationwide grassroots mobilisation campaign centred on governance, economic empowerment, youth employment, devolution and constitutionalism.
“Kenya’s future cannot be confined to a contest between two political camps that continue to deepen division. We are building a broad movement that places citizens, good governance and economic transformation at the centre of national leadership,” the disputed statement read in part.
Additionally, the statement asserted that the purported coalition would remain open to working with other political parties, civil society organisations, professionals, faith-based groups and young people, while establishing a joint secretariat to coordinate political activities, policy development and grassroots engagement before unveiling a common manifesto and leadership structure.
Adongo Ogony is a Human Rights Activist and a Writer who lives in Toronto, Canada
