A fierce power struggle has rocked the opposition with leaders turning their artillery on former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, whom they accuse of “belittling, bullying colleagues and seeking to dominate the coalition".
The internal war came at a delicate time for the opposition before naming their presidential candidate and unveiling their 2027 political lineup against President William Ruto.
There are fears that if not managed well, the internal tension could trigger an acrimonious split, at a time when Ruto’s team is reportedly courting some opposition bigwigs.
Sources said the fallout has previously been confined to closed-door meetings and growing individual frustrations.
However, the frictions spilled to the public this week in ugly exchanges.
Allies of former Interior CS Fred Matiang’i blasted Gachagua in public meetings, days after three leaders from Mt Kenya East also took on Gachagua.
The three are former Agriculture CS Peter Munya, Democratic Party leader Justin Muturi and former Embu Senator Lenny Kivuti.
"You cannot belittle Kisii, Kuria, Teso and other small tribes,” Kitutu Chache South MP Antony Kibagendi, a close Matiang’i ally, told the Star on their grievance with Gachagua.
“While Matiang'i comes from a smaller community, opinion polls have shown he enjoys support across the country. We are building a national profile.”
Kibagendi and Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka had taken on Gachagua in Matiang'i’s presence.
Allies of the DCP leader say Kibagendi and Onyonka were speaking for Matiang’i.
"The fact that Kibagendi spoke in Matiang'i's presence means those were Matiang'i's views. But we welcome it because this is what we have been asking them to do — hold rallies and mobilise their supporters," Embakasi Central MP Benjamin Gathiru, popularly known as Mejjadonk told the Star.
He argued the criticism merely vindicated Gachagua's insistence that opposition leaders should spend less time in meetings and more time engaging voters.
"He [Matiang’i] has been sitting waiting for endorsements. Rigathi cannot do the donkey work for everybody."
At a rally in Kuria on Wednesday, Kibagendi accused Gachagua of bullying other opposition principals.
“Gachagua is the impediment to the unity of the opposition,” he said.
Onyonka also told a meeting Matiang'i attended that Gachagua's approach was making other coalition partners uncomfortable.
"We want to tell you Gachagua that you are making us be uncomfortable with you," Onyonka said.
"You are telling us how you have numbers and no one should go to Mt Kenya because you have taken it to be your fiefdom, and you believe that many of us who don't have four million votes cannot be president of Kenya. We want to tell you this time, it is also our turn."
When contacted by the Star, Kibagendi said his criticism of Gachagua was intended to unlock an impasse that has threatened the coalition's unity.
"He is taking us back. I spoke to bring about harmony, respect and conversations that would bring unity to the coalition," he told the Star.
He said their concerns arose from Gachagua's repeated assertions that Matiang'i should focus his campaigns in Kisii, Kuria and other smaller communities.
"He is a presidential candidate and should not be limited to the regions he should campaign in. It is pushing us into a cocoon," Kibagendi said.
According to the MP, the opposition cannot afford to recycle traditional ethnic politics if it hopes to persuade Kenyans that it offers a genuine alternative.
Kibagendi argued that, paradoxically, the public exchanges had helped revive conversations among opposition leaders after months of limited engagement.
He disclosed that fresh consultations are now underway, with another meeting of the principals expected soon in a bid to restore cohesion.
"The utterances are bringing about unity because they have reopened communication channels that had been inactive," he said.
Munya has also escalated the pressure on Gachagua.
Speaking in a television interview, Munya accused the former Deputy President of exhibiting bullying tendencies and warned that such conduct was incompatible with the leadership style the opposition wants to project.
"Gachagua is a bully. We think he needs to act more responsibly when dealing with leaders and all human beings. Use your language in a more courteous manner and you will go further than you have gone," Munya said.
He said he would struggle to support Gachagua for the presidency if the current approach persists.
"I am 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 insisted he has no personal differences with Gachagua but urged him to abandon what he termed bravado, name-calling and condescending politics.
His remarks came days after he, Muturi and Kivuti issued a joint statement rejecting Gachagua's suggestion that parties within the opposition should dissolve into a single outfit.
The trio insisted Gachagua had neither the legal nor moral authority to dictate the future of independent political parties or claim to speak for the entire Mt Kenya region.
They warned that durable political partnerships can only be built through consultation, mutual respect and voluntary cooperation rather than political ultimatums.
But Gachagua's allies dismissed claims he was intimidating coalition partners.
Mejjadonk maintained that political strength must be demonstrated through public mobilisation rather than boardroom negotiations.
"At the end of the day we shall sit and agree, but each leader must first show they have people. Decisions cannot be based on boardroom meetings," he said.
Gathiru argued that the focus on Gachagua reflected his growing influence within the opposition.
"Any publicity is good publicity. In talking about Rigathi, they are acknowledging that he has votes."
Even as criticism mounted, Gachagua remained unapologetic.
Addressing supporters at his home on Thursday, he defended his strategy, saying defeating an incumbent president requires each opposition leader to first consolidate support in their political strongholds before discussing coalition arrangements.
"I have told my colleagues that we should not waste time in seminars and instead lock our backyards. Once we lock Ruto out of the country, we can then sit in a five-star hotel and discuss," Gachagua said.
"Some are saying I am too rigid. I am not. I am simply doing what will help us win. There is no other formula for removing a sitting president. It is no walk in the park."
Munya, Muturi and Kivuti also accused Gachagua of pursuing a domineering style that risks fracturing the alliance.
The Star has established that behind the public exchanges lies weeks of intense boardroom consultations.
It is understood the leaders, together with their advisers, have held talks aimed at containing a widening fallout.
The deliberations followed fears by insiders that the events could derail efforts to build a united front against Ruto.
A section of opposition leaders are said to be jittery that Gachagua has increasingly sought to position himself as the coalition's undisputed political centre, often dismissing their influence.
According to insiders, Kisii MPs have deliberately decided to confront Gachagua publicly after private engagements failed to ease tensions.
They accuse him of repeatedly belittling Matiang'i while also making remarks perceived to undermine other presidential hopefuls within the opposition.
At one point, according to sources, Matiang'i reportedly expressed frustration, saying he would rather chart his own political course than remain in an arrangement where he constantly feels undermined.
"Gachagua has been spoken to privately by colleagues and advisers. We have been telling him to be strategic in his utterances, but nothing seems to change," another insider said.
The disagreements are said to go beyond Matiang'i.
Gachagua has also been accused of diminishing Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka while simultaneously embracing Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, unsettling some coalition players.
Another flashpoint emerged in Meru where a planned Linda Mwananchi meeting has been postponed several times.
There are claims of disagreements over local political dynamics and concerns surrounding former Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza's role.
