Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua says the united opposition is ready to make whatever sacrifices it takes to settle on one presidential candidate for 2027. He said this after he held extensive consultations today morning with Wiper leader Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, and the leadership of the Wiper Patriotic Front. The talks, he said, were about "the liberation of our country" and the formation of the 6th administration.
Gachagua did not name the candidate. He only said the leaders agreed that one person must be chosen to carry the struggle, and that consultations would continue. That is the same message the opposition has been giving for months, however this shows the talks are still going on, and the deadline is getting closer.
Gachagua also made a point saying that, his home at Wamunyoro remains "an integral part" of all efforts to restore the nation. That is important because Wamunyoro is where he has been holding meetings with his supporters. Earlier this year, his allies said those meetings were partly meant to prepare his followers for the possibility that someone else, not Gachagua, would be picked as the opposition flagbearer. Senator Wambua of Kitui even claimed that the principals had already agreed on Kalonzo, though Gachagua himself has not said this publicly.
Kalonzo has been pushing hard for the ticket. His Wiper party formally nominated him at its national delegates' convention at Uhuru Park in October 2025, and he has said he is ready to step aside if the coalition picks someone else. Gachagua and former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i have both said they will back Kalonzo if the united opposition chooses him. Matiang'i has also said the opposition must put personal ambition aside to save the country.
Still, the road has not been smooth. Over the past year, the opposition has had many public fights about who is meeting whom and who is making deals behind the scenes. Gachagua and Kalonzo have both denied secret deals, and Kalonzo once said his meeting with Gachagua was "just coffee." Gachagua has also said that having one candidate against President William Ruto is "not negotiable," and that message is clearly the reason for these talks.
Ruto's allies have dismissed the opposition's unity talk and have described Kalonzo as a politician who depends on the political strength of the late Raila Odinga. Whether the opposition can really agree on one name, and whether its supporters will accept that name, will likely decide how strong the challenge to Ruto is in 2027.
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