From right: Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, Health CS Aden Duale, National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wa and The Service Party leader Mwangi Kiunjuri.
President William Ruto's allies insist Kenya Kwanza still has a fighting chance in the 2027 General Election even as the Opposition paints a grim picture of a regime on the verge of collapse.
Despite mounting public declarations that some perceive as panic-driven, Dr Ruto’s allies maintain that it's far from over—especially in the Mt Kenya region which played a decisive role in his 2022 victory.
The Ruto administration has come under heavy fire for extrajudicial killings, loss of public trust, internal defections, high taxation and youth-led protests that continue despite brutal crackdowns.
On July 12, 2025, People's Liberation Party leader Martha Karua dismissed the government as “worse than the dark days behind us—this is a total eclipse.” More former allies, once sympathetic to Dr Ruto, are now abandoning his camp.
Among them is Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro, who on July 10, 2025, condemned the administration as “clueless and with no business calling itself a government.”
“A government that is murdering people without remorse, declaring ‘shoot to kill,’ yet failing to protect life and property despite investing heavily in intelligence can only be said to be living dangerously,” Mr Nyoro said.
Murang’a Governor Irungu Kang’ata echoed the sentiment, saying “The government has wronged us greatly by taking the lives of our young people, and we will not accept it.”
Now, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has joined hands with opposition leaders including Martha Karua, former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, former Defence CS Eugene Wamalwa, former Attorney General Justin Muturi, former Interior CS Fred Matiang’i and Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya, all vowing to oust Dr Ruto in 2027.
However, loyalists like Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wa, Health CS Adan Duale and The Service Party leader Mwangi Kiunjuri insist the President's camp is unshaken.
People’s Liberation Party leader Martha Karua (centre) addresses journalists flanked by (from left) Dr Fred Matiangi, former Attorney-General Justin Muturi, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and other opposition leaders at SKM Command Center in Nairobi on July 8, 2025.
These loyalists say they plan to deploy a political war chest the opposition can't match. Their strategy includes reorganising the Kenya Kwanza Alliance, exploiting divisions in Mt Kenya and poaching opposition heavyweights to their camp.
Building roads
“If the opposition thinks being in government has dulled our political edge, they are mistaken. A day is coming when we’ll roll up our sleeves and enter the political arena and Dr Ruto will win in 2027,” Prof Kindiki said while touring the Coast region on July 5.
He added, “We are focused on building roads, connecting homes to electricity, improving water access, supporting farmers, and securing the country. These are things our opponents can’t offer, and they will be our strongest campaign tools.”
Mr Kiunjuri dismissed talk of President Ruto exiting power anytime soon.
“Who said President Ruto is leaving? From 2027 to 2032, there might be new faces, but the Head of State will still be him,” he said.
He revealed that President Ruto called all Kenya Kwanza principals on July 10 to reassure them. “He told us all is well, to ignore the opposition's doom narratives. I know because I’m one of the principals he called,” said Mr Kiunjuri.
He also hinted at renewed ties with former President Uhuru Kenyatta, noting that their December 2024 meeting in Ichaweri may lead to a 2027 alliance. He further disclosed that Dr Ruto’s strategists are courting Opposition figures like Kalonzo Musyoka, Natembeya, and Dr Matiang’i.
“Politics is a game of trading horses and all have their eyes on interests. All of those in opposition given a better deal can be poached. The only opposition chief we do not want is Gachagua,” he said.
However, Ms Karua, Musyoka, Wamalwa, and Natembeya have all publicly rejected overtures to work with Ruto's government.
Mr Kiunjuri added that Kenya Kwanza is also targeting political parties in Mt Kenya including Jubilee as part of its 2027 realignment.
Health CS Duale declared that Dr Ruto will serve two terms, stating, “Others before him served two terms. We will mobilise voter turnout like never before.”
Winning second term
Mr Duale insisted that winning a second term requires “campaigning, courting, endearing and using the law to hold opponents accountable for past and current excesses.”
Opposition leaders (from left): Eugene Wamalwa, Kalonzo Musyoka, Fred Matiang’i and Rigathi Gachagua in Kisumu on July 3, 2025.
President Ruto has repeatedly declared that he will defeat the opposition at the ballot and has sometimes threatened not to hand over power to a group he considers “visionless.”
Some of his allies like former Trade CS Moses Kuria and Senator Samson Cherargei have controversially suggested there might not even be an election in 2027 or that Dr Ruto’s term might be extended.
Mr Ichung’wa argues that loyalists need only “deconstruct the greed for power” within the opposition, singling out Gachagua as “a man filled with personal frustrations who is now trying to nationalise his grievances.”
Mr Gachagua was impeached in October 2024 after serving as Dr Ruto’s deputy for two years.
Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi told Daily Nation, “We have a surgical precision plan to silence these noisemakers tarnishing Kenya’s image. Watch this space they’ll turn on each other like the Tower of Babel.”
On his part, Mogotio MP Reuben Kiborek added, “We are considering all legal methods to deal with opposition leaders. We will use state power to enforce the law, not to persecute, but to hold accountable those spreading hate and incitement.”
While Mr Gachagua has claimed that youth and leaders from Mt Kenya are being targeted with terrorism charges for dissent, Mr Kiborek insists this is simply the state enforcing the constitution.
“We welcome political competition but we won’t let it devolve into incitement and civil strife,” he said.
