The Ukombozi Alliance (TUA) has made changes to its deed of agreement, including scrapping a clause that made the coalition party leader the automatic presidential candidate, in an attempt to attract those against the Kalonzo Musyoka -led alliance.
The deed of agreement anchoring the coalition, which was known as Azimio la Umoja One Kenya before rebranding last month, has also introduced a clause allowing it to enter into an alliance with other formations in yet another attempt to avert divisions in the opposition.
“The amended deed of agreement, which is the foundational document for The Ukombozi Alliance, is explicit that the coalition party leader is not the automatic presidential candidate,” Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua told the Daily Nation.
The alliance has introduced a clause allowing for more than one council chairperson in an effort to take care of competing interests in the opposition.
The agreement, which is yet to be deposited with the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties, seeks to hand the coalition party leader more powers and roles.
The coalition council will be convened and chaired by the party leader. In the previous arrangement, the council was chaired by the chairperson.
Siaya Governor James Orengo and Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) Leader Rigathi Gachagua have been identified as Mr Kenyatta’s possible replacements.
However, DCP and Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna’s Linda Mwananchi Movement are opposed to joining The Ukombozi Alliance.
In a recent statement, Mr Musyoka insisted that there was no vacuum or change of leadership in Ukombozi.
“The party leader is the political and executive head of the party. He speaks for the party, runs its day-to-day affairs and represents it before the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties and other institutions,” the Wiper Patriotic Front boss said.
“I hold that office, and it is unaffected by President Kenyatta’s resignation. There is no vacuum at the helm of Ukombozi, and no change in the party’s leadership, direction or programme.”
DCP party Leader Rigathi Gachagua met with Linda Mwananchi Party leader Edwin Sifuna at his Wamunyoro residence.
Photo credit: Pool
The rebranded alliance is pushing for a model inspired by the National Rainbow Coalition (Narc) that swept Mwai Kibaki to the presidency in 2002.
Under the arrangement, parties would retain their identities while rallying behind a common presidential candidate and the coalition.
In the deed of agreement to be deposited with the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties, the coalition has proposed “Sauti Moja-Taifa Moja” (One Voice-One Nation) as its slogan for 2027.
“We undertake in this agreement to bring the parties together to ensure an outcome in the said election that will fulfil the wishes of the people of Kenya and guarantee them a government that will continue to pursue the endeavours towards national unity,” the agreement reads.
The alliance notes in the document its intention to mobilise Kenyans to participate in peaceful, free and fair elections and to form an inclusive government anchored in the Constitution and laws of Kenya following the General Election in 2027.
The partner parties list Utu (humanity), Undugu (brotherhood), Usawa (equity), Umoja (unity) and Uzalishaji (productivity) as their basic pillars.
According to the agreement, the parties will pursue policies that promote common humanity and nurture the respect and dignity of every citizen.
The parties also commit to promoting the “comradeship and fellowship among Kenyans to enable them to work together with their leadership towards a common destiny”.
Ms Eunice Shamia Lumallas, who holds brief for Wiper Patriotic Front, said Ukombozi is free to enter into an alliance with another coalition or individual political party.
She added that opposition parties that are not part of Ukombozi can still partner with the alliance under such an arrangement.
In the agreement obtained by the Daily Nation, the coalition party will have “the council chairperson or chairpersons as may be agreed”.
The agreement lists the Coalition Council, the National Coalition Executive Committee, the National Secretariat headed by the Executive Director, the Coalition Parliamentary Group, the County Coalition Caucus, the National Disciplinary Committee, the Secretaries-General Group and the Dispute Resolution Panel as the key organs of the alliance.
According to the agreement, the council remains its top decision-making organ and will comprise no more than 21 members, including the secretary-general of the alliance.
The mandate of the council will include giving policy direction, governance of the coalition as well as formulating and advising on the principles for the organisation of government to ensure equity, fairness and transparency among the partners.
“In the composition of its organs, the coalition party shall ensure its structures and organs adhere to the constitutional principles and values in relation to the inclusion of women, the youth, persons with disabilities and marginalised communities and groups,” it reads.
The agreement lists its members as Jubilee Party of Mr Kenyatta, Mr Musyoka’s Wiper Patriotic Front, Kanu of former Baringo Senator Gideon Moi, Narc of former Kitui governor Charity Ngilu, Democratic Action Party-Kenya (DAP-K) of former Defence Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa, United Democratic Party of Cyrus Jirongo (now deceased) and Chama Cha Uzalendo.
Others are the National Liberal Party, the Party of National Unity of former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya, Democratic Party of Kenya of former Attorney General and CS Justin Muturi, Devolution Empowerment Party of former Embu senator Lenny Kivuti, the Party for Peace and Development and Ubuntu People Forum.
Also listed are United Party of Independent Alliance, the Kenya Reforms Party, the Labour Party of Kenya, Muungano Party, the United Progressive Alliance, the Party for Growth and Prosperity and the Kenya Union Party.
The Ukombozi Alliance Executive Director, Mr Philip Kisia, said some of the parties have been included in the new deed of agreement, though they have not formally left Azimio la Umoja One Kenya.
He added that Ukombozi has written to Azimio partner parties to confirm their membership in the alliance.
Muungano Party, for instance, changed hands when Embakasi East MP Babu Owino acquired it from former Makueni governor Kivutha Kibwana and rebranded it The Mwananchi Party (TMP).
“The process of exiting a coalition is not by public announcement. But we are cleaning our register and have written to the parties to confirm their participation,” Mr Kisia said.
“We have written to the parties that signed the deed of agreement in 2022, and for whatever reason, have not been participating in our activities.”
Contacted later, Jubilee Deputy Party Leader Jeremiah Kioni said some of the parties named in the agreement were not consulted when the changes were being made.
Mr Kioni said unless there is candid discussion about the role of all the partners, Jubilee would be hesitant to join the rebranded coalition.
“The farther people move away from Azimio la Umoja One Kenya, the better because Azimio memories are not good. People have to be candid on how positions will be shared and how coalition members will be treated. If not, I will hesitate to be part of this alliance,” Mr Kioni said.
“I have not been consulted or seen my party consulted on some of the amendments. The document should have been shared by partners for concurrence. There are misgivings around this rebranding.”
Mr Musyoka has been at the centre of rebranding the 2022 election vehicle as The Ukombozi Alliance, having succeeded Odinga as the coalition party leader.
However, the emerging resistance to the Ukombozi identity by important opposition players suggests that presenting the rebranded outfit as the 2027 election vehicle could deepen division within the camp that is already witnessing a clash of egos and competing interests.
For others, Ukombozi is Mr Musyoka’s brainchild.
There is also a feeling that the former vice president already has an upper hand as far as the presidential flagbearer race is concerned.
Some individuals who have endorsed him as their preferred pick for the presidential ticket are senior members of Ukombozi.
For Mr Musyoka, being at the forefront of crafting an election-driven coalition that fractures as a result of competing ambitions would be a huge blow to his second stab at the presidency.
Former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i speaks during the handover of leadership of the Jubilee Party at the party headquarters in Nairobi on September 22, 2026.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
At 72, the race is perhaps the last most viable chance for Mr Musyoka to become the president of Kenya.
Mr Musyoka is already popularising Ukombozi, with billboards mounted in several parts of the country.
Mr Kenyatta recently led the coalition in making leadership changes, including the admission of Jubilee Party Leader Fred Matiang’i, Mr Munya and Mr Kivuti as council members.
Now Mr Musyoka and his strategists are seeking to make the rebranded coalition more appealing to young Kenyans as well as the new partners.
