The United Opposition is struggling to expand its influence across the country, and one of the biggest obstacles is the politics of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. Instead of building a broad national movement, Gachagua has tied the Opposition to narrow regional interests, making it difficult to attract support beyond a few counties.
Week after week, the Opposition’s activities rotate between Murang’a, Machakos, and Kajiado. This repetition is not growth; it is stagnation. It reflects a movement trapped in familiar spaces because its leadership cannot connect with the rest of Kenya. Gachagua’s constant focus on Mt. Kenya politics and his tribal approach are sending the wrong message to regions that want leaders who speak to national issues.
Kenyans today want practical answers—how to deal with the high cost of living, create jobs, and fight corruption. They want leaders who can bring people together across regions. But Gachagua’s politics pushes the Opposition in the opposite direction. His divisive rhetoric and obsession with ethnic loyalty turn away communities that are looking for inclusion, not exclusion.
This explains why the Opposition is locked in a regional bubble. Leaders in Rift Valley, Coast, and Western Kenya hesitate to join hands with a movement that appears to belong only to a section of Mt. Kenya. Instead of being a unifying force, Gachagua’s behavior isolates the Opposition from the very people it needs to win over.
If the Opposition hopes to become a national alternative, it must free itself from Gachagua’s old playbook of tribal politics. Until then, it will remain stuck in the cycle of Murang’a, Machakos, and Kajiado—a movement going in circles rather than building a future.
