Former Laikipia Woman Representative Cate Waruguru /HANDOUTFormer Laikipia Woman Representative Cate Waruguru has warned that public disagreements among Opposition leaders could undermine efforts to unseat President William Ruto in the 2027 general election.
Waruguru, who is a member of the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP), criticised Opposition leaders for publicly attacking former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, arguing that such bickering could work to the advantage of Ruto.
She said leaders committed to the Opposition's stated goal of making Ruto a one-term president should not be fighting each other in public.
“I am a small person in DCP, but I want to urge our fellow MPs and United Opposition principals who are bashing Rigathi Gachagua. If you are strongly behind the One-Term movement, none of you would dare raise their arm to fight Gachagua and at the same time fight William Ruto,” Waruguru said.
“You are sympathisers of Ruto.”
Waruguru called on Opposition leaders to resolve their differences internally, warning that public attacks could create the impression that the alliance is divided.
“I want to plead with you, there are differences, we can solve them internally because a divided house will fall."
“Any person who is bashing the work Gachagua is doing in the mountain in open rallies, you obviously want Ruto to be a two-term president,” Waruguru said.
The former legislator urged DCP members to remain calm and maintain respect for leaders from other parties within the United Opposition.
“I want to ask our members in DCP fraternity to remain calm and continue to respect our friends and members of other political parties, but most importantly we avoid this bashing in public. It does not help us,” she said.
Waruguru also contrasted the reaction to DCP's victory in the recent Ol Kalou by-election with the intensity of criticism currently directed at Gachagua.
“I did not see any noise when DCP won the Ol Kalou by-election. The congratulatory messages were not as loud and strong as the current bashing,” she said.
She maintained that Gachagua had the political capacity to mount a presidential campaign on his own but said his decision to work with other Opposition leaders was driven by a common objective.
“Rigathi is equal to the task to go alone in 2027 and win the election, but the reason we have teamed up with others is because we all have one agenda, to take William Ruto home,” Waruguru said.
Waruguru called on the Opposition principals to address their differences and maintain a united front.
“I want to ask Opposition principals to put our house in order. We must remain united with a cause. We must not look like we are divided,” she said.
She further challenged leaders unhappy with Gachagua's role in the coalition to address their concerns through the alliance's internal structures rather than through public attacks.
“If anyone has a problem with Gachagua, please tell us to quit the United Opposition,” Waruguru said.
Her comments followed a fresh attack on Gachagua by Party of National Unity (PNU) leader Peter Munya, who accused the former Deputy President of exhibiting bullying and dictatorial tendencies.
Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV on Wednesday night, Munya said Gachagua's alleged conduct raised questions about his suitability to lead the country.
Munya said he hoped Gachagua would not emerge as the Opposition's presidential candidate in 2027, arguing that he would not support what he described as dictatorial tendencies.
“I’m hoping Gachagua is not a presidential candidate because I would not support that kind of a person to run the country. Those dictatorial tendencies are the same ones we are saying we don’t want in the current government,” Munya said.
