Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka will this weekend make a fresh push into Nyanza and Western Kenya, taking his presidential campaign to two regions that have traditionally been associated with the late Raila Odinga, as President William Ruto intensifies efforts to build a new political base there.
Mr Musyoka is scheduled to make stopovers in Bumala and Nambale in Busia County on Saturday before travelling to Bondo, Siaya County on Sunday where he will attend a church service at St Michael’s All Angels Cathedral and later conduct a meet-the-people tour.
The two-day itinerary places Mr Musyoka in the heart of the political territory that for years formed the backbone of Mr Odinga’s opposition politics.
It also comes barely days after President Ruto completed an extensive five-day tour of Nyanza, following his recent engagements in Busia, in a sustained effort to deepen his political presence in the region.
Mr Musyoka’s trip is therefore key to his 2027 presidential bid as he seeks to establish his own relationship with voters who supported Mr Odinga through successive election cycles.
The Wiper leader has worked closely with Mr Odinga in the last three presidential elections — serving as his running mate in 2013 and 2017, and supporting his 2022 presidential bid after being considered for a senior position in an Azimio government.
In 2022, Mr Odinga named Mr Musyoka as Chief Cabinet Secretary-designate in his proposed government after selecting People’s Liberation Party leader Martha Karua as his running mate.
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Yet despite that long political association, Mr Musyoka has faced the challenge of translating his partnership with Mr Odinga into an independent political foothold in Nyanza and Western Kenya.
That challenge has become more urgent following Mr Odinga’s death and the subsequent political realignment around his former allies and the Kenya Kwanza administration.
The Wiper leader’s visit to Bondo — Mr Odinga’s home constituency, analysts say — will consequently carry political symbolism beyond the listed church and public engagements.
Bondo is in Siaya, one of the counties that formed the core of Mr Odinga’s political support. Mr Musyoka’s decision to hold a meet-the-people tour there offers him an opportunity to directly engage residents as he attempts to position himself as one of the senior opposition figures capable of carrying forward the political agenda he shared with Mr Odinga.
Nation has established that Mr Musyoka is banking on Siaya Governor James Orengo to help anchor his push in Nyanza, despite the governor’s association with the Edwin Sifuna-led Linda Mwananchi movement.
Busia has traditionally been part of the wider opposition coalition vote and has been a regular destination for national politicians seeking to consolidate support across the former Western and Nyanza blocs.
His Nyanza tour, which began earlier this month, took him through Kisumu, Siaya, Migori and Homa Bay counties. The visit was framed around development projects and engagement with local leaders and stakeholders, but it also came against the backdrop of the political contest over the region ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The President has also been making political and development overtures in Busia, giving his administration a wider presence in an area where opposition parties have historically enjoyed considerable support.
That has created a new challenge for opposition leaders, who must now compete not only against Dr Ruto’s political machinery but also against the appeal of government projects and direct engagement with local leaders.
For Mr Musyoka, the challenge is compounded by the absence of Mr Odinga, whose personal political network held together disparate constituencies across Nyanza, Western and other parts of the country.
From left: Politician Tony Gachoka, Democratic Party of Kenya (DP) Party Leader Justin Muturi, Wiper Patriotic Front Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka and Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K) Party Leader Eugene Wamalwa during a press conference at the SKM Centre in Nairobi on September 16, 2026.
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation
The Wiper leader’s current strategy appears to be to rebuild those relationships while also pursuing a broader opposition coalition.
His latest engagements come days after the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition rebranded as the Ukombozi Alliance.
Announcing the change on Monday, Mr Musyoka said the coalition had unanimously agreed to adopt the new name.
“After today, even this podium will change because the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition has this day, September 21, 2026, unanimously agreed to rebrand and change the name to Ukombozi Alliance,” Mr Musyoka said.
The rebranding is part of a broader effort by opposition parties to reorganise themselves ahead of the 2027 election.
Mr Musyoka is also working with a group of opposition leaders seeking to settle on a presidential ticket early enough to give the alliance time to campaign across the country.
A section of opposition leaders, including Mr Musyoka, Democratic Party leader Justin Muturi, DAP-Kenya leader Eugene Wamalwa and Democratic Empowerment Party leader Lenny Kivuti, met at Stoni Athi Resort to discuss the way forward.
The discussions have centred on whether Mr Musyoka should be presented as the alliance’s presidential candidate and whether Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna should be his running mate.
The proposal would give the ticket a combination of long experience in national politics and a younger generation of opposition leadership.
It would also place Mr Musyoka at the centre of a potentially wider contest for the opposition vote.
But the coalition calculations remain complicated by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s presidential ambitions.
Mr Gachagua, through his Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP), has also declared interest in the presidency.
His deputy, Cleophas Malala, on Tuesday ruled out DCP joining the Mr Musyoka-led Ukombozi Alliance, the rebranded Azimio coalition, while leaving the door open for a broader coalition involving the two sides.
From left: Then-Azimio bigwigs Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, the late Raila Odinga, and former President Uhuru Kenyatta during an Interdenominational prayer service for victims of police brutality at SKM Centre in Karen on July 28, 2023.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Umoja
“We cannot get there at this point. Let them join hands, then DCP can also join hands with Sifuna, and thereafter we can sit down and have a discussion. Let the Ukombozi Alliance come together, let DCP and Sifuna also come together, and then we can form a coalition,” Mr Malala said, further fuelling uncertainty over the shape of the opposition coalition ahead of the 2027 elections.
Mr Gachagua has publicly maintained that he intends to contest the presidency in 2027, meaning that any attempt to settle on an opposition presidential candidate without his participation could deepen divisions among parties seeking to challenge Dr Ruto.
The issue is particularly important for the opposition because Mr Gachagua has been cultivating support in Mt Kenya while Mr Musyoka has traditionally drawn his strongest support from Ukambani.
“The emerging coalition calculations revolve around how to combine different regional bases without alienating leaders who have their own presidential ambitions. Kalonzo’s push into Nyanza and Western Kenya is part of that wider national equation,” argues political pundit Geoffrey Mboya.
He went on: “His association with the late Raila gives him an established history with voters in the two regions, but the current political environment is different from the three elections in which the two worked together.”
In 2013, Mr Musyoka shelved his presidential ambitions to become Mr Odinga’s running mate under the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy. In 2017, the two again ran together under the National Super Alliance.
The partnership made Mr Musyoka a familiar figure in Nyanza campaigns, but Mr Odinga remained the principal political figure and presidential candidate.
In 2022, the arrangement changed after Mr Odinga selected Ms Karua as his running mate, while Mr Musyoka remained a key member of the Azimio campaign.
“That history now provides both an advantage and a challenge. Kalonzo can point to years of political cooperation with Raila and his participation in the opposition campaigns that secured overwhelming support in Nyanza,” says advocate Chris Omore.
At the same time, Mr Omore adds, Mr Musyoka must persuade voters to transfer that relationship into support for him personally at a time when other politicians are also attempting to inherit the political space left by Mr Odinga.
Wiper Patriotic Front leader Kalonzo Musyoka speaks to residents of Taita Taveta County.
Photo credit: Pool
ODM, led by Dr Oburu Oginga, is seeking to retain its influence in Nyanza even as it works with President Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) under the broad-based government.
The President’s recent tour placed development at the centre of his message, with roads, water, markets, healthcare and education among the issues highlighted during his engagements.
The strategy, pundits say, gives Dr Ruto an opportunity to present himself not simply as a political opponent of the region’s former dominant leader but as a president seeking to establish a direct relationship with residents.
“Kalonzo’s immediate challenge is to prove that his political appeal extends beyond Ukambani and that the alliances he forged during his years alongside Mr Odinga remain relevant following the former Prime Minister’s death,” says Mr Omore.
As Dr Ruto seeks to make inroads into the former opposition strongholds, Mr Musyoka and his allies will have to convince voters that the political alliances associated with Mr Odinga can be reorganised rather than inherited by the ruling camp.
