Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna (left) and DCP leader Rigathi Gachagua.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has opened the door to an unlikely political alliance between Mt Kenya and Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, saying the region would be ready to support him if he emerges as the opposition’s joint presidential candidate in 2027.
In a significant departure from the increasingly familiar politics of regional kingpins, Mr Gachagua said he was even prepared to serve as Mr Sifuna’s running mate or have the Nairobi senator deputise him if that is what it takes to defeat President William Ruto.
“I am ready to even deputise him. He can also deputise me. Sifuna is an equal principal in the united opposition search for a joint candidate,” Mr Gachagua said while addressing Kenyans in Spokane, United States, on Saturday evening.
The former deputy president said the opposition should not rush the choice of its presidential candidate, suggesting that the decision could be made between March and May next year.
“There is no hurry. We will ensure we vote out President Ruto in the first round of voting,” he said.
The remarks offer one of the clearest indications yet of Mr Gachagua’s willingness to look beyond Mt Kenya in the search for the political vehicle to challenge Dr Ruto.
For months, Mr Gachagua has positioned himself as the leading political figure in the Mountain, building the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) and touring the region in an effort to consolidate support after his dramatic fallout with President Ruto.
His latest intervention, however, suggests that his strategy may be broader than securing the opposition ticket for himself.
It is also about ensuring that Mt Kenya does not become an isolated political bloc in the 2027 contest and that its votes are used as part of a larger opposition coalition capable of defeating Dr Ruto.
Mr Gachagua also dismissed the notion that Mr Sifuna could not attract support from the Mt Kenya region because he comes from western Kenya.
He also took issue with Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot who has questioned whether the Mountain would support Mr Sifuna if he were handed the opposition ticket.
Mr Gachagua recalled that Mt Kenya overwhelmingly supported Dr Ruto in 2022 despite the then Deputy President not being from the region.
“The few who did not believe in him voted for Raila Odinga. Both of them were not mountaineers,” he said.
DCP leader Rigathi Gachagua addresses the media at the party’s offices in Nairobi on August 11, 2026.
He also rejected Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu) secretary-general Francis Atwoli’s argument that Mr Sifuna is too young to become president.
Mr Gachagua pointed to former US President Barack Obama who was elected at the age of 47, arguing that age should not be used to shut younger politicians out of the presidency.
“If Obama could be voted to lead the most powerful nation on earth at age 47 in 2008, what stops Sifuna getting elected Kenya president at the age of 45 years in 2027?” he posed.
Mr Gachagua has increasingly presented the opposition’s challenge as one of arithmetic rather than individual ambition.
He says the government’s political strategists are attempting to fracture opposition parties and voting blocs before the election, while the opposition’s best chance of defeating Dr Ruto is to settle on one candidate.
“I am ready to support any other candidate apart from President Ruto in 2027,” he said.
That position could become important as opposition parties negotiate a possible joint ticket.
The field remains crowded, with Mr Gachagua seeking to build DCP into a national political vehicle, former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i carrying the Jubilee presidential ticket, while Mr Sifuna has emerged as one of the younger and more vocal figures in the Linda Mwananchi movement.
Other senior opposition politicians including former Deputy President Kalonzo Musyoka and People Liberation Party leader Martha Karua are also part of the broader conversation over the shape of the 2027 alliance.
The competing ambitions have raised the question of whether the opposition can agree on one candidate without one of the major political blocs feeling short-changed.
Read: My one term as senator is enough experience to be president, Sifuna says as he rallies Western
For Mr Gachagua, the answer appears to lie in delaying the decision until the political landscape becomes clearer. He said the opposition candidate should only be named between March and May 2027.
The strategy could allow the opposition to assess the relative strength of the different candidates, negotiate regional support and settle on a candidate capable of attracting votes beyond his or her traditional political base.
Mr Gachagua has become one of Dr Ruto's fiercest opponents, while sections of Mt Kenya have grown increasingly critical of the Kenya Kwanza administration.
The former deputy president is now seeking to convert that disaffection into a political force capable of influencing the 2027 outcome.
He also warned the electoral commission against what he described as failures in preparing for the 2027 elections, saying the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission must ensure credibility in procurement, technology and the management of electoral processes.
“It must not impose its will in procurement of electoral materials and technologies. The IEBC must condemn violence especially that unleashed by the state. It must realize that Kenya can burn because of its recklessness. When we call it out for omissions and commissions, it is out of our love for peace and stability,” he said.
Mr Gachagua said the new governance order the United Opposition is pursuing will partner with diaspora talents to help fix Kenya ills.
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