Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka’s attempt to cobble a new coalition to face President William Ruto in 2027 has run into fresh headwinds.
That is after a section of Jubilee leaders and some key allies of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua rejected the push to join newly unveiled The Ukombozi Alliance (TUA).
This comes despite the alliance proposing Gachagua to replace former President Uhuru Kenyatta as the Coalition’s Chairman.
TUA is a rebranded Azimio La Umoja, the political machine on whose ticket the late Raila Odinga contested the presidency in 2022.
Embakasi North MP James Gakuya, a close Gachagua ally, downplayed the offer, terming the council chairmanship too low-key for a politician of Gachagua’s stature.
He urged Gachagua to reject the offer unless he was given greater control of the rebranded outfit.
“I find council chairman position as a low deal considering the size of our party,” Gakuya told the Star.
Gatanga MP Edward Muriu, a close ally of Gachagua, similarly played down the proposal, saying DCP’s immediate priority was to strengthen its support base before entering coalition negotiations.
“Our focus as DCP is to consolidate our bases and eventually sit down with other opposition leaders and come up with giant coalition to send Ruto home,” Muriu told the Star.
“As DCP we know what we want and we do not dictate other parties which coalitions they join or what they call them.”
Earlier, DCP deputy party leader Cleophas Malala was categorical that his party would not join TUA.
“We as DCP cannot join the Ukombozi Alliance. They should join together as TUA, while we in the DCP will join Sifuna. Then we will negotiate together for one coalition,” Malala said.
“We will sit down after they have come together as TUA. Then they will come and sit with us for an agreement,” he added.
Kalonzo chaired Wednesday’s Azimio steering committee meeting where the proposal for Gachagua to take over as TUA council chairman was discussed.
The Wiper leader is currently the party leader of TUA, a position that gives him significant influence over the coalition.
Under the Azimio coalition agreement, the party leader serves as the political and executive head of the coalition and its spokesperson, overseeing its day-to-day affairs and acting as its official representative.
The council chairmanship would give Gachagua a prominent role in the coalition’s leadership, particularly at the council level.
Political observers therefore view the proposal as potentially giving Kalonzo greater influence over the opposition’s emerging power structure and, ultimately, negotiations on the joint presidential ticket.
Jubilee deputy party leader Jeremiah Kioni has now added to the pressure, questioning why the party remains attached to the Azimio/Ukombozi arrangement.
He called for a fresh political vehicle.
“I really don’t understand what we are doing as Jubilee in this whole Azimio/Ukombozi arrangement,” Kioni said.
“At this point, I believe we should be thinking beyond the old formations and working towards a new, genuinely inclusive coalition that brings everyone on board and gives every voice a place at the table.”
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta resigned as Azimio Council chairman, saying it was time to make way for a new generation of leaders.
“Leadership is not the clinging to the front of the current; it is the courage to step aside and allow the next generation to navigate the waters,” Uhuru said in his resignation note.
The former President has previously been floated as a possible arbiter should opposition principals fail to agree on a joint presidential candidate.
Gachagua has said Uhuru could play the role of an elder in helping rival camps resolve disagreements, rather than financing or leading the opposition.
But the former President’s close links to several of the leading opposition figures could also complicate any attempt to position him as a neutral broker.
