There is still no deal on who will fly the opposition flag against President William Ruto in the 2027 race, despite ongoing high-level meetings at Democracy for Citizens Party leader Rigathi Gachagua’s Wamunyoro residence, the Star can authoritatively report.
Both Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka are the latest visitors to Gachagua’s residence, where the question of the flagbearer is being discussed.
Multiple sources intimated to the Star that a deadlock persists even as the team races against time to name Ruto’s challenger and set up structures for the preferred candidate’s campaign.
While DCP deputy Cleophas Malala on Sunday claimed that the party had settled on Sifuna as its candidate, details emerging from the high-level exchanges point to a different scenario. He added that the party was reaching out to other opposition leaders to build consensus around his candidacy.
Malala said Kalonzo’s visit was meant to persuade the Wiper leader to back the Nairobi senator, remarks that came hours before Kalonzo’s visit on Monday.
During Monday’s meeting, the former vice president is said to have confronted Gachagua over the sentiments, which came at a time when the opposition team is navigating the flagbearer question.
Sources familiar with the intrigues said Kalonzo expressed surprise at the remarks, which appeared to portray his engagement with Gachagua and other opposition leaders as part of a campaign to rally behind Sifuna.
Gachagua reportedly dismissed his deputy’s claims, maintaining that no decision had been reached on the candidate to carry the opposition’s presidential bid.
“The party leader expressed his disappointment at the claims made by Malala. Gachagua told us to ignore him (Malala),” the source told the Star.
Malala did not attend Monday’s meeting at Wamunyoro.
The DCP leader, according to our sources, is reportedly keen to have a leader he believes would ensure the Mt Kenya region remains in “safe hands” should the opposition win the presidency.
The meeting at Wamunyoro home was intended to deepen consultations among opposition leaders on how to face President William Ruto in the 2027 election.
According to sources, the two leaders agreed to step up efforts to popularise their respective political bids while keeping discussions open on a possible formula for settling on a joint presidential candidate.
The leaders are understood to have agreed that neither side should prematurely claim the opposition ticket, with the focus instead shifting to building support across different regions before a final decision is made.
They also discussed plans for joint Kamba-Kikuyu meetings as part of efforts to strengthen the political partnership between the two communities and push for greater Kamba inclusion in the broader Gema political equation.
For decades, the Akamba community was not formally considered part of the Gema grouping, which traditionally comprises the Agikuyu, Aembu and Ameru communities. The communities have also backed different political formations since the reintroduction of multiparty politics in 1992.
However, following Gachagua’s impeachment in October 2024, the DCP leader began actively courting Kalonzo, referring to him as a “cousin”.
This followed opposition by Wiper MPs and senators to Gachagua’s removal during proceedings in the National Assembly and Senate.
Even before the impeachment, Kalonzo had begun reaching out to the Agikuyu community, meeting members of the Kikuyu Council of Elders (KCE) in Ruaka, Kiambu county, in April 2024.
Speaking to the Star by phone, KCE chairperson Wachira Kiago said the elders had already welcomed the Akamba community into the Gema grouping following a series of unification rituals.
“The Akamba are now part of Gema. We met with the Akamba elders, conducted unification rites and completed that process. They are now part of us. We now leave it to politicians to unite the region, as ‘cousins’,” Kiago said.
Another emerging point of difference is the timing of naming the opposition flagbearer.
Sources told the Star that the Kalonzo camp is pushing for a decision as early as December, arguing that the alliance would need sufficient time to organise its campaign and sell its candidate nationally.
DAP-K leader Eugene Wamalwa, a close confidant of the Wiper boss, said Monday’s consultations agreed that the flagbearer should be named before Christmas.
“Coalition building is a process of consultations, of negotiations, until we agree to now form that one team.
“Then after that we now form the lineup for that team: who shall be captain, who shall be the goalkeeper, who shall be the defender, who shall be the striker,” Eugene said.
“We have reached a place where we can talk over how and when. So we are hoping with intensified consultations between now and December, we should be able to give Kenyans a Christmas present.”
The Gachagua camp, however, is reportedly more comfortable with early next year, giving the emerging alliance more time to test the popularity of the contenders and negotiate a formula acceptable to all partners.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, John Methu, the DCP secretary-general designate and Nyandarua senator, said both Gachagua and Kalonzo had agreed to back a single candidate to face Ruto.
“We don't want partners who say, ‘If it's not him, it's Ruto.’ That isn't wantam (one-term),” Methu said.
He added that the two parties were working to build a stronger political organisation, with their leaders expected to agree on one presidential candidate.
The DCP leader has been seeking to strengthen ties with opposition leaders as negotiations over a possible joint political front gather pace.
While several opposition figures have been mentioned in discussions about a possible joint ticket, the question of who will carry the coalition’s presidential flag remains unresolved.
The emerging political alignment includes Kalonzo, former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i, People’s Liberation Party’s Martha Karua, DAP-K’s Eugene and Democratic Party leader Justin Muturi, alongside Gachagua and Sifuna.
INSTANT ANALYSIS
For decades, the Akamba community was not formally considered part of the Gema grouping, which traditionally comprises the Agikuyu, Aembu and Ameru communities. The communities have also backed different political formations since the reintroduction of multiparty politics in 1992.
