Former president Uhuru Kenyatta has moved to reassert his grip on the opposition, installing Kalonzo Musyoka as the new leader of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition and elevating Suba MP Caroli Omondi to secretary-general.
The leadership shake-up signals both a strategic reset and deepening realignments ahead of the 2027 elections.
The decisions were approved during a joint meeting of Azimio’s Council and National Executive Committee, chaired by Mr Kenyatta, the coalition’s chairman and Kenya’s fourth president.
Former Nairobi town clerk Philip Kisia was also named executive director, completing a trio of appointments that party officials said had already been communicated to the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties.
In a public notice released after the meeting, Azimio said the changes were driven by “evolving political circumstances” and aimed at revitalising the coalition, boosting internal cohesion and strengthening its national posture.
But beyond the language of renewal, the reshuffle reflects a broader political recalibration that places Mr Kalonzo, a veteran opposition figure and former vice-president, at the centre of a coalition seeking to regain momentum after months of drift, defections and internal discord.
Mr Kenyatta’s growing visibility within Azimio has also underscored his determination to remain a power broker in opposition politics, despite having exited the presidency in 2022.
During the Jubilee Party’s recent delegates’ conference, he made it clear that his party would stay firmly within Azimio.
“We will work, and as Jubilee Party, we have made a decision to remain in Azimio and all that is left in it ahead of the 2027 elections,” Mr Kenyatta said.
He is now expected to chair an aspirants’ forum for the United Opposition on February 14, an event widely seen as the first structured attempt to reorganise the anti-government front and shape the coalition’s leadership roadmap.
Suba South MP Caroli Omondi.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group
Mr Kalonzo's elevation appears less ceremonial and more tactical, aimed at stabilising Azimio, broadening its appeal beyond Raila Odinga’s traditional base, and presenting a more unified front against President William Ruto’s administration.
The Suba South MP has emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of ODM’s internal power struggles, particularly a faction he says is being orchestrated by Oburu Odinga to predetermine the party’s leadership succession.
Mr Oginga, the eldest brother of Odinga, assumed the leadership of ODM after the death of his brother. But his tenure has been rocked with internal wrangles, with factions emerging and appearing to be pulling apart.
The Suba South MP, who replaces Junet Mohammed, has repeatedly warned that ODM is facing a “serious internal crisis,” and accused the Oburu-led camp of rigging the upcoming National Delegates Convention and quietly aligning the party with the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
Mr Omondi is in the anti-broad-based faction. His appointment signals Mr Kenyatta’s growing determination to claw back influence within ODM and prevent the party from drifting apart.
In what is seen as an internal chessboard, the camp led by ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna and Siaya Governor James Orengo has increasingly been viewed as aligned with Mr Kenyatta’s hardline opposition posture.
“They have even made up their minds that they will work with UDA,” Omondi said recently. “Anybody who opposes them will be fought and crushed.”
He further cautioned party heavyweights, such as Mr Sifuna, Siaya Governor James Orengo, Embakasi East MP Babu Owino and Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi, against trusting the NDC process.
“The NDC they are calling for is already rigged,” Omondi said.
His elevation to Azimio’s powerful secretary-general position, therefore, places a fierce internal dissenter at the administrative heart of the coalition. And the move is likely intended to counterbalance ODM’s internal consolidation under the Odinga family axis.
The appointments also reflect Mr Kenyatta’s attempt to transform Azimio from a loose post-election alliance into a structured opposition machine capable of surviving internal fractures and mounting a credible challenge in 2027.
Mr Kalonzo offers experience, cross-regional appeal and relative neutrality in ODM’s internal wars. Mr Omondi brings combative energy and a willingness to confront what he views as elite capture within the opposition.
Azimio Coalition officials framed the changes as part of a broader effort to foster “inclusive, principled and forward-looking governance.” But in practical terms, they signal an intensifying struggle over who controls the opposition’s future and whether Azimio will remain anchored around ODM or evolve into a broader, Uhuru-managed coalition.
