Kalonzo, Gachagua and Matiang'i meet to ease fears of division

The meeting between Wiper Patriotic Front Leader Kalonzo Musyoka, Democracy for Citizens Party Leader Rigathi Gachagua and Jubilee Party Leader Fred Matiang'i has rekindled hopes of opposition unity several days after it appeared cracked.

Kalonzo, Gachagua and Matiang'i met in Nairobi on Saturday evening in seeking to iron out differences that had emerged between the DCP Leader and Jubilee Party Leader that were likely to derail the opposition quest to come up with a single Presidential candidate.

According to sources at the meeting Kalonzo was concerned about differences between Gachagua and Matiang'i which has seen them verbally attack each and that he considered it not being healthy with Kenyans having high expectations of opposition unity.

“Kalonzo has been very concerned about the perceived differences between Gachagua and Matiang'i, which he believes, if allowed to persist, may lead to the opposition splitting, handing President William Ruto an easy re-election next year,” said an MP who sought anonymity.

Gachagua, during a meeting at his Wamunyoro residence in Nyeri last week, challenged Matiang'i and Democratic Party Leader Justin Muturi to prove their political strength on the ground instead of questioning his emphasis on numbers in the race to unseat President Ruto.

The former Deputy President accused the two opposition leaders of spending too much time in hotels, boardrooms and Television studios while President Ruto was busy building his political support base across the country, since he understood the importance of numbers.

“How do you want me not to talk about numbers while Ruto was working on numbers in my absence, even UDA Secretary General Hassan Omar is talking about the dead voting while you are moving from one hotel to another doing nothing,” said Gachagua.

The former Deputy President challenged Matiang’i and Muturi to get out of their comfort zones and mobilise voters, arguing that nobody would simply hand them the opposition's presidential ticket without them putting in any effort.

“How do you become president without numbers, claiming to have ideas and records? For you to be president, people must see you. I am a practical politician and I know that for you to become president, you must have numbers,” he said.

The former Deputy President went further to question the electoral strength of some of his critics, citing by-election performances which he said exposed the difference between political ambitions and the ability to mobilise voters.

He singled out Muturi, who had previously expressed willingness to help remove Ruto from power but allegedly failed to attract support even in his own polling station, pointing out that he was unable to deliver a Member of County Assembly seat in his native Embu County.

“You went into a by-election for MCA in your polling station, mobilising only 35 votes with Ruto defeating you by 238, yet you want to lecture Riggy G; if you cannot defeat Ruto in your own polling station, how can you defeat him in the whole of Kenya?” asked Gachagua.

The former Deputy President also cited the Ol Kalou by-election, claiming that DCP secured 35,000 votes while the two leaders managed 194 and 28 votes, respectively, which showed their campaigns were not well planned.

Gachagua maintained that the opposition needed leaders with a proven ability to mobilise support, adding that at least 18 million votes would be required to remove Ruto from power and that each opposition leader must play their role.

The DCP leader also questioned the activities of Gachagua and Muturi during his two-month stay in the United States of America, accusing them of sitting lazily instead of strengthening their political networks.

“No one should imagine that Gachagua’s job is to go out and hunt for votes and hand them over to those who are doing nothing; I will only work with like-minded leaders. Tell me, since I went to the USA, how many meetings have you held?” asked Gachagua.

Matiangi, while speaking in Nairobi last week, said Gachagua’s approach to politics is likely to divide the opposition and weaken its chances of defeating Ruto in the next General Election, stating that he needed to change his mode of operation and accommodate others.

The Jubilee Party Leader questioned the argument that anyone could replace the President, saying the opposition needed to offer a credible alternative rather than focus solely on who will be taking over State House and that Gachagua’s arrogance would wreck the opposition.

“When someone tells you that anybody can replace Ruto, it raises serious questions since it seems that what drives us in our quest to remove Ruto from office is because we are not the ones occupying that seat; that is a wrong approach to leadership,” said Matiang’i.

The Jubilee Leader dismissed the assertion by Gachagua that only a few opposition principals are enough to send Ruto home, arguing that such exclusion of other leaders is what will have the current President sail back to power after the 2027 general election easily.

Matiang’i maintained that the country’s leadership should be determined through competition based on ideas, development platforms, track records, competence and qualifications rather than ethnic mobilisation, which has been the major problem in our country.

The Jubilee Party Leader said that he was willing to support any candidate selected through an inclusive and acceptable process but opposed attempts by a small group of politicians to impose their preferred candidate on others, which he said was bound to backfire.

“I am greatly concerned that arrogance and pride among opposition leaders could create divisions at a time when the coalition needs to unite behind a candidate capable of challenging Ruto in the next election; if we are not going to check out, that will be our downfall,” said Matiang’i.

The Jubilee Party Leader said that he was against the idea of two or three people frog-marched all candidates and dictating how the opposition parties will run their affairs, saying that it is a road that has been travelled before with negative consequences.

Matiang’i cautioned opposition leaders against assuming that unity automatically guaranteed victory, citing Brazil, where a united opposition candidate had recently lost to an incumbent President, since politics is very dynamic.

The Jubilee Presidential Candidate said that despite his worry about divisions within the opposition, President Ruto’s chances of retaining power solely depended on whether his challengers remained a united force or went their separate ways.

“The latest credible opinion survey has shown that President Ruto’s clearest path to retaining power was a divided opposition and that the ball lies squarely in our court on whether we will do the right thing or hand the President a second term through our disunity,” said Matiangi.

Kalonzo, while speaking in Kisumu on Thursday, dismissed claims of divisions within the opposition, insisting that the Principals are united and strategising to cover different parts of the country simultaneously even as they prepared to name their flagbearer to face Ruto.

Kalonzo said apparent differences of opinion among opposition figures should not be mistaken for disunity, maintaining that they remained one team with a common objective of building a strong political alternative ahead of the 2027 General Election.

Speaking at Kisumu International Airport shortly after arriving for the Nyanza tour, the Wiper leader revealed that the opposition was deliberately engaging different parts of the country as the leaders position themselves for the 2027 political contest.

“I want to assure the country that the Opposition Super Alliance is in the making, and we are one team. Sometimes we may seemingly not agree on one thing, but that is our strategy; do not ask us; we are okay. We need to cover the entire country at the same time,” said Kalonzo.

The former Vice President said that consultations were ongoing to bring together like-minded leaders from different political formations and expressed confidence that more opposition figures would join the emerging alliance.

Kalonzo said the coalition-building process was still underway, with leaders from the Democracy for the Citizens Party, the Linda Mwananchi Movement and Jubilee Party expected to join the initiative to have one super alliance to send Ruto home.

“We are preparing ourselves, and our friends will join us; that is what we hope for. Our brothers from DCP, Linda Mwananchi and Jubilee will join us. We would like to assure Kenyans that we are coming up with a formula to send Ruto home,” said Kalonzo.

Political Risk Analyst Dismas Mokua said that Gachagua is the only threat to opposition unity since he considers himself the de facto opposition leader on account of his majoritarian arrogance.

Mokua pointed out that Gachagua expects all opposition principals to visit his Wamunyoro residence and bow to him and wants to use the coming general elections to settle personal scores with President Ruto.

The analyst observed that Kalonzo considers himself the first among equals and knows that 2027 is his best chance and that failure to run will see his political capital go up in flames, with the probability of Kalonzo sacrificing his 2027 presidential interests being zero.

Mokua pointed out that Matiangi is running for the presidency as a comeback to public service on account of his meritocratic leadership that saw him serve in various cabinet positions for 10 years under the government of former President Uhuru Kenyatta.

“The Probability of opposition unity is therefore a challenge given the three principals' individual and cumulative interests around the Presidency; Kalonzo, Gachagua and Matiangi have their interests which must be catered for by the chosen candidate,” said Mokua.

The Political analyst said that Gachagua has to socialise with the fact that marginalised and hitherto disadvantaged communities in Kenya, on account of the Sessional Paper No. 10, are not tier two citizens and deserve to enjoy equity and equality in resource allocation.