Fallout as Matiang’i –Kalonzo factions take shape
Opposition’s figurehead, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua who is also the party leader for Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) is said to be shoving subtle support for Kalonzo over Matiang’i.
The much-publicised opposition unity drive is facing its first major test as sharp divisions emerge between Jubilee’s Party presidential candidate Fred Matiang’i and Wiper Patriotic Front Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka, exposing underlying tensions within the coalition barely months after it was unveiled to challenge President William Ruto in 2027.
Oppositions figurehead, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua who is also the party leader for Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) is said to be shoving subtle support for Kalonzo over Matiang’i.
However, yesterday, the opposition leaders cut the image of a watertight unity pact during the Wiper Patriotic Front holds its National Delegates Conference (NDC) held at Uhuru Park in Nairobi.
Kalonzo was endorsed by the Wiper delegates as the presidential flag bearer for the 2027 General Election.
United Opposition leaders, including DCP’s Rigathi Gachagua, DAP-Kenya’s Eugene Wamalwa, Jubilee’s Fred Matiang’i, DP’s Justin Muturi, and PLP’s Martha Karua made a joint rallying call to back one of the own amid the ongoing rift from within.
They used the platform to discredit Ruto’s administration misdeeds pledging to restore the rule of law, respect for human rights and good governance in 2027 once they assume office.
Dismayed confidants within the united opposition reveal that the two camps are pulling in different directions over strategy, leadership structure, and regional representation in the emerging alliance.
Others have downplayed the matter as friendly fire.
“This is friendly fire misconstrued as divisions. We are not going to have separate teams, rather, we will forge a joint movement to face Ruto. That is what matters,” An insider told The Informer Media Group.
At the heart of the disagreement is who should take the leadership mantle ahead of the coalition’s planned national convention later this year. While Kalonzo’s Wiper insists on a continuation of Azimio’s political structure that positions him as the natural flag bearer, Matiang’i’s Jubilee wing is pushing for a fresh leadership model that would “reflect inclusivity and merit rather than seniority.”
Fears are rife that the emerging fault lines could derail the opposition’s efforts to mount a credible challenge to Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza Alliance, which has been consolidating power through regional outreach and defections from opposition parties.
The Matiang’i faction, largely composed of former civil servants, technocrats, and moderate politicians from Western and Kisii regions, is reportedly advocating for a policy-driven alliance with a technocratic approach to governance.
Kalonzo’s bloc, on the other hand, wants the coalition to retain its mass movement identity, anchored in Azimio’s social-justice agenda and grassroots mobilisation.
