Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka is facing an uphill task in his bid to consolidate the opposition under the newly branded Ukombozi Alliance, with key political players distancing themselves from the outfit.
The resistance comes days after Kalonzo unveiled the Ukombozi Alliance as the new name of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition.
Kalonzo said the decision had been unanimously agreed upon as part of a broader restructuring of the opposition alliance.
But the rebrand has exposed fresh divisions in the opposition, with allies of DCP leader Rigathi Gachagua, Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and other parties questioning the move and pursuing alternative political arrangements ahead of the 2027 elections.
DCP deputy party leader Cleophas Malala said his party would not join the Ukombozi Alliance, arguing that it would instead seek to work with Sifuna before negotiating with other opposition groups.
“We, in the DCP, will not join Azimio. We cannot get there. Let them unite there, and then we (DCP) and Sifuna unite, and then we negotiate with them,” Malala said.
The latest row follows Kalonzo’s September 21 announcement that Azimio had rebranded as The Ukombozi Alliance.
In August, Embakasi North MP James Gakuya, a close ally of Gachagua, had disclosed that DCP would not join Azimio, now the Ukombozi Alliance.
"We have no space in Azimio. Even going forward, we cannot recognise it at all," he said.
“If we are going to form any political alliance in future, it should not be under Azimio. We are going to reject it in totality.”
The National Liberal Party, one of the coalition’s founding parties, has also demanded clarity over the rebranding.
Party leader Augustus Muli said NLP had written to the coalition leadership and the Registrar of Political Parties, seeking official documentation and details on the legal and organisational basis of the change.
“We, therefore, seek to establish the facts, understand the legal and organisational basis of the purported rebranding, and ensure that all relevant procedures are followed in accordance with the law,” Muli said.
The Mwananchi Party leader and Embakasi East MP Babu Owino signalled that Sifuna’s Linda Mwananchi faction could form its own coalition before engaging other opposition players.
“We will push Sifuna to go forward as our presidential candidate as Linda Mwananchi,” he said.
“Once he is there, we will form a coalition within Linda Mwananchi because, in the long run, we will have to form another bigger coalition with the alternative opposition.”
He said the group would later seek talks with leaders including Kalonzo, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and former Interior CS Fred Matiang’i.
The emerging fault lines could leave the opposition with competing coalition structures seeking to negotiate a broader alliance before the 2027 elections.
Kalonzo’s Ukombozi unveiling was attended by Siaya Governor James Orengo, a key figure in Linda Mwananchi, and Azimio secretary general Caroli Omondi, who is also the movement’s spokesperson.
However, PLP leader Martha Karua was absent, despite Kalonzo maintaining that she would eventually join the alliance.
Karua had rejected the proposed rebrand in March, likening Azimio to a “ship that had already sunk” and ruling out her party’s return.
Also absent was Narc leader Charity Ngilu, despite being a member of the Azimio Council.
