2027 game plan: Why Ruto team is eyeing Kalonzo Musyoka

A collage of President William Ruto and Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka./COURTERSY

President William Ruto’s UDA administration has fallen short of confirming that they are wooing opposition leader and former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka to their side.

Kalonzo, who was endorsed by his Wiper Democratic Front (WPF) as its flagbearer in the 2027 election last Friday, appears to be at the top of Ruto’s team with less than two years to the next polls.

The ruling alliance has brought former Prime Minister Raila Odinga to their side, and smarting from recent success in wooing Kanu’s Gideon Moi and has now turned their focus on Kalonzo.  

Yesterday, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale gave the clearest hint that UDA is wooing the Wiper Leader just a few days after Ruto met Kanu’s Moi.

He pointed out that all leaders who opposed Ruto during the era of President Uhuru Kenyatta while gravitating around the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) were now somehow working closely with or have met Ruto to discuss the possibility of working in a partnership. 

“Governor Mandago once warned about politics and said, ‘Don’t put it in your heart but lungs. Yesterday we met Gideon Moi. We will look for others until you get shocked. We will collect them all,” he said.

Duale added; “You saw that picture in the newspaper during the era of my friend President Uhuru Kenyatta. They were seven. There is only one left. And you know who that person is.

The Health CS said Ruto was determined to bring all Kenyan’s together for purposes of national unity and development. 

“The President has said that if Kenya must progress, all leaders, tribes, and parties have to come together. When elections come, that will be a different issue but for now we must be united,” he said.

The seven leaders who were part of the Uhuru-led handshake with Raila include Musalia Mudavadi, Moses Wetangula, Gideon Moi, Charity Ngilu, Kalonzo Musyoka.  Musalia and Wetangula joined Ruto before elections, Raila after elections, and now Moi. Only Kalonzo has become elusive while Ngilu has maintained a low profile after the 2022 polls.

On Sunday, President Ruto spoke about his recent meeting with Moi, saying that it was part of his efforts to consolidate the country’s support for purposes of mobilising all to support his development agenda.

Ruto said he has spoken to many leaders including speaking to almost 80 per cent of parliament members one-on-one to explain to them how he is going to move the country from a third world country to a developed one.

“I have had a conversation with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga on how we are going to move this country from a third-world country to a first-world country. I have engaged my brother former President Uhuru Kenyatta on the same. I have engaged many including Gideon Moi recently and I will continue to engage all the leaders so that we can make this country a first-world country in our lifetime,” Ruto said.

Kalonzo has in several occasions rejected overtures to work with Ruto as his ally and immediate former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua expresses confidence that Kalonzo will not betray the people of Kenya. 

“Why would Kalonzo abandon the united opposition when he now stands his best chance at the presidency? With a solid opening balance from Mt. Kenya, Kamba, and Kisii regions, and additional support from parts of the Coast, Western, and the Maa community, what would he be running to Ruto for? What exactly would Ruto be offering him? Kalonzo is not a man who will trade his inheritance for a morsel of bread,” Jubilee party’s Pauline Njoroge states.

On Saturday, after Kalonzo’s WPF NDC, Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei said the ex-VP is top of their signing list. “....Mark you, in a couple of months, the former vice president shall be in a working political relationship with President Ruto. That’s where his future lies...,” Cherargei wrote on his X handle.

Baringo South MP Charles Kamuren who is allied to Ruto revealed that it was their desire to have Ruto seek re-election unopposed, and thus the current efforts to approach Ruto’s main rivals.

Kamuren said; “The likes of Kalonzo, Matiangi and Wamalwa and others out there, we want to welcome you with your parties to join Kenya Kwanza, so that we proceed together.”