Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and ex-Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i have thrown their weight behind Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka, should the opposition unite behind him as its presidential candidate for the 2027 General Election.
Speaking at the Wiper National Delegates Conference in Uhuru Park Nairobi on Friday, both leaders vowed to mount a formidable campaign to unseat President Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
Gachagua, who was impeached in 2024 amid a fallout with Ruto, declared that his support for Kalonzo would surpass the intense campaign he led for Ruto in 2022. “What I did for Ruto was just a teaser,” Gachagua told a charged crowd. “If the opposition unites behind Kalonzo as its candidate, I and my millions of followers will campaign for him ten times harder.”
He urged Kalonzo to ramp up grassroots mobilisation and build alliances to secure a broad-based coalition, emphasising that unity is the key to victory in 2027.
On his part, Matiang’i echoed the former DP’s call for opposition unity, stressing the need to prioritise national interests over personal ambitions.
“We have agreed that we must put ambition and everything else before the interest of this country,” Matiang’i said.
“When we sit together, and the united opposition decides that you (Kalonzo) will be the candidate, I will support you, and we will support you.”
The public backing from the two high-profile political figures marks a significant boost for Kalonzo, the former Vice President, who has yet to confirm his candidacy but is widely viewed as a frontrunner within the opposition coalition.
Nevertheless, their alliance may still face the challenge of consolidating its factions, which have historically been fractured by competing ambitions.
Read: What Kalonzo Musyoka Currently Enjoys as the Former Vice President of Kenya
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