Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua's closed-door meeting with Safina Party leader Jimi Wanjigi at his Wamunyoro home has unsettled the opposition's 2027 succession calculations, reopening debate over its presidential ticket and campaign strategy.
Until this week, opposition discussions had increasingly centred on Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka and Jubilee presidential candidate Fred Matiang'i as the top contenders, with Linda Mwananchi chief Edwin Sifuna among those being considered for the running mate slot.
However, some analysts have warned that a ticket without a Mt Kenya principal, could struggle to win overwhelming backing from the vote-rich region and could trigger voter apathy.
Against that backdrop, Mr Wanjigi's meeting with Mr Gachagua has fuelled speculations.
Safina Party Leader Jimi Wanjigi during an interview at his Kwacha House offices in Nairobi on October 8, 2025.
Photo credit: Evans Habil | Nation Media Group
Besides being the only prominent Mt Kenya politician to have declared a presidential bid, Mr Wanjigi is also viewed as bringing substantial financial muscle to an opposition coalition that many observers say has largely depended on former President Uhuru Kenyatta for funding.
Political analyst and advocate Nelson Osiemo argues that the meeting has complicated coalition negotiations by introducing another possible Mt Kenya presidential option in the opposition calculus.
"The meeting complicates coalition negotiations because it introduces another potential Mt Kenya presidential option into the opposition equation. It suggests that consensus around a single candidate is still some way off, and every new entrant raises the stakes in the negotiations," Mr Osiemo told Sunday Nation.
He also adds that such a move would present Mr Gachagua with a dilemma: whether backing a homegrown Mt Kenya candidate would strengthen the region's bargaining power or reduce his influence as the opposition's key national power broker.
It is against this backdrop that Mr Musyoka’s allies on Thursday declared that Mr Gachagua has “privately settled on the Wiper leader as opposition’s preferred presidential candidate for 2027.”
Speaking at a function in his Tseikuru backyard, Mr Musyoka endorsed remarks by Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua, who had told supporters that opposition principals had already agreed on his candidacy.
"You've heard how Senator Enoch Wambua has passionately explained to you what is happening and even shared privileged information. Everything he has said, I want to confirm. That's exactly how things are," Mr Musyoka said.
New phase for Mt Kenya politics
Mr Wambua had claimed that Mr Gachagua was using his 45-day consultations at his Wamunyoro home to prepare his Mt Kenya supporters for Mr Musyoka’s eventual endorsement.
"This is the candidate our leaders have already agreed on. Once Gachagua finishes his consultations, he will officially announce to his people that the United Alternative Government presidential candidate is Kalonzo," said Mr Wambua.
But long time political strategist Geoffrey Mboya argues that the Gachagua-Wanjigi meeting may have only lasted a few hours on Wednesday, but politically, it signalled something far more consequential than a routine courtesy call.
“Coming barely days after the High Court upheld the former Deputy President's impeachment, the encounter immediately triggered speculation about whether Mt Kenya politics is entering a new phase—one in which Gachagua may increasingly be forced to look beyond himself in determining who ultimately carries the region's political aspirations into the 2027 General Election,” he says.
The optics alone he says, were striking.
“For months, Mr Gachagua had built his post-impeachment political strategy around the assumption that he would eventually clear his legal hurdles and remain the undisputed political centre of gravity in Mt Kenya through his Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP). The court verdict fundamentally altered that equation.”
Kalonzo Musyoka (left) and Rigathi Gachagua during a meeting by leaders of the Opposition in Nairobi on September 8, 2025.
Photo credit: Pool
Mr Mboya adds: “While the ruling did not erase his influence, it complicated his long-term political calculations. Within hours, Wanjigi, one of the few politicians from the region who has openly declared interest in the presidency,was seated across the table from him.”
“Whether by coincidence or design, the meeting immediately invited one unavoidable question: was Gachagua beginning to think beyond himself?”
According to those familiar with Mt Kenya politics, the meeting represented more than political symbolism.
Without the possibility of personally occupying the presidential ballot, his greatest political challenge, they say, may no longer be mobilising the mountain but determining where that political capital eventually lands.
That decision could ultimately define both his own legacy and the outcome of the 2027 presidential contest.
Naivasha MP Jayne Kihara argues that the region's bargaining power need not depend on Mr Gachagua personally seeking office.
Instead, she says, Mt Kenya can negotiate from a position of parliamentary strength by electing large numbers of MPs, senators and governors capable of influencing whichever coalition forms government.
It is an argument increasingly gaining currency among sections of the former Deputy President's supporters.
Historically, Mt Kenya has rarely entered a general election without a direct presidential project.
From Kenneth Matiba and Mwai Kibaki in the 1990s to Uhuru Kenyatta's successful campaigns in 2013 and 2017, the region has traditionally preferred having one of its own at the apex of national politics or, at the very least, occupying the deputy presidency.
Kenya's fourth president Uhuru Kenyatta receives a sword as a symbol of authority from his predecessor Mwai Kibaki (left) during his inauguration at the Moi International Sports Center Kasarani in Nairobi on April 9, 2013.
Photo credit: Simon Maina | AFP
Only in 2022 did the mountain rally behind running mates rather than a presidential candidate, with Mr Gachagua joining William Ruto's ticket while Martha Karua partnered the late Raila Odinga.
“That history explains why the recent High court verdict on Mr Gachagua’s impeachment has triggered renewed interest in one politician who until recently appeared to occupy the margins of national politics—Jimi Wanjigi,” says Mr Issa Ndereva.
Unlike many Mt Kenya politicians still focused on parliamentary, gubernatorial or senatorial contests, Mr Wanjigi has already declared his presidential ambitions.
More importantly, he remains the only prominent presidential aspirant from the region operating outside both President Ruto's Kenya Kwanza alliance and the Kalonzo Musyoka-led United Opposition negotiations.
Political observer Nelson Osiemo argues that Mr Gachagua may eventually struggle to persuade Mt Kenya voters to rally behind a presidential ticket that lacks one of their own.
If neither the opposition nor Kenya Kwanza ultimately presents a mountain candidate, Mr Wanjigi, he says, could find himself occupying a uniquely advantageous political position.
"I think Wanjigi is the man to watch from Mt Kenya region in the 2027 election calculus," Mr Osiemo argues. His assessment highlights an emerging political reality.
For all Mr Gachagua's influence, political mobilisation becomes significantly more difficult when detached from an identifiable presidential project.
Unlike politicians whose messaging revolves around regional grievances, Mr Wanjigi has consistently marketed himself as a national candidate focused on governance, economic reforms and institutional renewal.
He has deliberately expanded Safina's presence beyond Mt Kenya, opening party offices across different regions, including Nyanza, where his running mate, advocate Willis Otieno, enjoys considerable visibility.
Where Mr Gachagua has largely framed politics through the language of regional solidarity and protecting Mt Kenya's interests, Mr Wanjigi has repeatedly argued that Kenyans are united less by tribe than by common economic hardships.
That philosophical difference has until now appeared to place the two leaders on different political paths.
Their meeting therefore, analysts insist, carries significance beyond ordinary coalition consultations.
Governance expert Prof Gitile Naituli believes the High Court ruling should not simply be interpreted as a judgment about Mr Gachagua's eligibility to hold office.
Its broader significance, he argues, lies in creating political space.
Politics, he says, rarely tolerates vacuums.
Whenever a dominant figure appears constrained, ambitious leaders naturally begin positioning themselves to occupy the available space.
Unlike many emerging politicians, Mr Osiemo states, Mr Wanjigi does not require coalition negotiations before entering the presidential race.
“He already possesses a political party, a declared candidacy and a national campaign infrastructure. Those assets become increasingly valuable as uncertainty grows around other opposition formations.”
Within the United Opposition, discussions continue over the eventual presidential flag bearer.
Although Ms Karua remains one of the coalition's principal leaders, political conversations have increasingly centred on Kalonzo Musyoka's prospects, with some quarters even floating a Kalonzo–Edwin Sifuna ticket.
Should such a configuration eventually emerge, Mt Kenya could find itself without a home-grown presidential candidate inside the opposition.
Political analyst Dismas Mokua believes the impeachment judgment has fundamentally altered opposition calculations.
Had the court lifted Mr Gachagua's impeachment, he argues, the former Deputy President would almost certainly have embarked on his own presidential campaign.
Impeached DP Rigathi Gachagua with his lawyer Paul Muite at the Milimani High Court in Nairobi on October 22, 2024.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation
Instead, the ruling introduces uncertainty into every subsequent political negotiation.
Outside former President Uhuru Kenyatta, few politicians command comparable grassroots mobilisation within Mt Kenya, he says.
“The challenge now lies in converting that influence into sustainable political relevance despite legal constraints. That is considerably more difficult.”
“History offers numerous examples of influential regional leaders who retained enormous popularity but gradually lost strategic importance once they ceased being viable presidential contenders.”
President William Ruto, meanwhile, is unlikely to remain a passive observer.
His administration has already deployed Deputy President Kithure Kindiki to spearhead an aggressive campaign aimed at rebuilding Kenya Kwanza's standing across the mountain through development tours, empowerment programmes and sustained engagement with local leaders.
Prof Kindiki's presence ensures the region continues enjoying representation at the highest levels of government.
“That competition means Mt Kenya is no longer politically monolithic. Instead, it is rapidly fragmenting into multiple centres of influence,” argues Chris Omore.
