Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka have announced plans to unveil a new opposition coalition, pledging unity as they begin laying the groundwork for a highstakes showdown with President William Ruto in the 2027 general election.
Speaking during a major political rally held at Kalonzo’s home in Tseikuru, Mwingi North, Kitui county, on Thursday, the opposition leaders launched a scathing political offensive against President Ruto, vowing to make him a one-term head of state.
Amid chants of “Wantam”—a slogan echoing determination and change—the leaders emphasised that the gathering marked the beginning of their march towards forming the next government.
“This meeting here in Tseikuru marks the beginning of the journey to forming the next government in 2027,” Gachagua declared, drawing enthusiastic cheers from the crowd.
The opposition, however, urged Kenyans to remain patient as they continue consultations on who will be selected to fly the coalition’s flag and challenge Ruto at the ballot.
“We are pleading with Kenyans to be patient. We understand Ruto very well. He is not sleeping. [But] we want to push him to the limit,” Gachagua said.
The former DP said they had agreed as a team to remain united “as that would be the only way to ensure victory against Ruto.”
He added, “I am asking Kenyans, relax. Give us time. Don’t harass us to announce a flag bearer, so that he will not be stoned on the road.”
Kalonzo, who hosted the opposition leaders in the event loaded with political symbolism, said the opposition will soon unveil the new coalition.
It will be a mammoth political machine, comprising political parties akin to the National Rainbow Coalition that ended the Kanu era in 2002.
“We are going to announce the name and form our winning coalition that will dwarf the Narc of 2002,” Kalonzo said.
Among the key attendees were Democracy for Citizens Party leader Gachagua, DAP-Kenya boss Eugene Wamalwa, PNU leader Peter Munya, Jubilee chairman Saitoti Torome and former Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi.
People’s Liberation Party leader Martha Karua was represented by secretary general Asha Bashir.
The meeting also drew major opposition leaders, local political figures, religious leaders, professionals, university student leaders, opinion shapers, and elders largely from the Kamba and Kikuyu communities.
However, there was confusion about who could fly the opposition flag, though the protocol at the event suggested Kalonzo and Gachagua could be the front runners.
Former Interior CS Fred Matiang’i, who is considered a formidable candidate for the opposition, is away in the US.
However, when Kalonzo rose to announce Matiang’i’s greetings, the crowd burst into cheers.
“We are going to announce a new winning coalition soon,” he said, restating that the team was ready for the poll battle ahead.
The meeting, however, featured strong endorsements for the former Vice President’s presidential ambitions.
In a show of growing unity among opposition figures, leaders at the event pledged to rally together and make the necessary sacrifices to ensure President William Ruto serves only one term.
Their presence underscored the significance of the meeting in shaping the opposition’s direction heading into 2027.
The meeting comes amid reports that Kalonzo’s Wiper and Gachagua’s DCP are in discussions to sign a cooperation agreement ahead of the 2027 general election.
Kalonzo, a three-time presidential contender and former Vice President, is re-emerging as a central figure in Kenya’s opposition politics.
Having played a key role in the Azimio la Umoja coalition in 2022, Kalonzo’s meeting sent the signal that he could be laying the groundwork for a more assertive stance in 2027.
In a telling show of solidarity, Gachagua sat beside Kalonzo throughout the event and was referred to by speakers as the chief guest, underscoring a budding alliance between the two leaders.
Gachagua was accompanied by a delegation from the Kikuyu Council of Elders—comprising both the men’s and women’s chapters—as well as representatives from the Gema community.
Describing Kalonzo as “our son,” the elders announced that the Kamba community had been re-integrated into the broader Gema political and cultural fold.
In a passionate appeal, the Kikuyu elders urged their Kamba counterparts—the Kamba Governing Council—to “release” Kalonzo so they could rally behind him in the race for State House.
“We want to go with him to the mountain so that he can become President in 2027. We have agreed to go with him, cook for him, and make him President,” declared a representative of the Kikuyu Council of Elders.
Gachagua said they visited Kalonzo to ask the Kamba community to release him.
He showered the former Vice President with praise, describing him as a solid and firm leader ripe to lead the nation.
“Kalonzo is a person whom we can trust because he can sacrifice. These people here, we must tell them that they must give us a leader for this country to be safe,” he said.
He said they are keen to send Ruto home first, before embarking on the journey to salvage the country from the atrocities instigated by the Kenya Kwanza regime.
“For Kenyans to be realigned, correct the economy and streamline education, Ruto must first go. Don’t plan our agenda for us,” he said.
He added that they have done their political arithmetic and concluded their coalition will floor Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga’s formation in 2027.
Naivasha MP Jayne Kihara, who delivered a message of appreciation from Mt Kenya to Kalonzo and Wiper MPs for standing with Gachagua during his impeachment, said that they will support the Wiper boss.
“They covered us when we were exposed. Mt Kenya will never forget their good gesture,” the lawmaker said.
Eugene warned Ruto against any attempt to interfere with the elections, adding that the country is ripe to remove him from power.
“Don’t dare steal the elections. I want to tell the broad-based government, there is something in English called paraphrasing. If you paraphrase, you don’t own the words,” he said.
He asked Gen Z to reject Ruto’s apologies during the National Prayer Breakfast on Wednesday.
“The apologies you issued yesterday are not acceptable, and it has been rejected by Gen Zs. Your government is still abducting Kenyans,” he said.
“The entire Ukambani, Western, Embu, Meru have also declared one term. Already, over 30 counties have declared that Ruto must go.”
Former CS Justin Muturi declared Ruto’s administration as dysfunctional.
“My work is to ensure William Ruto is one term. Do I have any other role? Gen Z, Ruto, when I went to his place to tell him my kid had been abducted, he called Noordin Haji and my child was released,” he said.
He added, “In DP, we are inside this coalition, and our duty is to ensure that we end the bad leadership of President William Ruto.”
Munya said, “We met as a party and agreed to partner with other leaders in the opposition to ensure one term. Kenyans, we have landed in a deep ditch that we put ourselves in. But it is us to get ourselves out of that ditch.”
Facing dual pressure from Kalonzo’s opposition and Gachagua’s manoeuvring, President Ruto is not sitting pretty.
Yesterday he rallied his troops for a series of activities in Nyanza.
While there, accompanied by his newfound ally Raila Odinga, the President assured Kenyans that he deliver his Bottom Up plan.
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