Opposition leaders warn IEBC, allege 2027 rigging scheme
United Opposition leaders (from left) Rigathi Gachagua, Kalonzo Musyoka and Eugene Wamalwa converse during the burial of JM Kariuki’s third wife, Terry Kariuki in Gilgil, Nakuru County on November 11, 2025.
The United Opposition has accused the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) of being part of an alleged vote rigging scheme, warning they would personally target “errant” commissioners and staff in individual lawsuits.
“We want to warn IEBC chairman Erastus Ethekon, CEO Hussein Marjan, commissioners and staff that we are changing tack. We will no longer sue IEBC as an institution, we will pursue individual culpability, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka said Tuesday.
Mr Ethekon has distanced IEBC from claims of electoral manipulation, accusing politicians of being the primary source of electoral chaos.
“It is impossible to steal votes in Kenya. What we have are politicians who run amok during elections—using intimidation, violence, and polling-station sieges—then later turn to disparage IEBC,” he said on Monday, December 8.
United Opposition leaders (from left) Rigathi Gachagua, Kalonzo Musyoka and Eugene Wamalwa speak to the media at the SKM Command Centre in Nairobi on November 26, 2025.
The opposition leaders who included Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua and DAP-Kenya boss Eugene Wamalwa were speaking in Matunda village, Murang’a County, during the burial of Herbert Kariithi Macharia.
Mr Kariithi, who died in a road accident, had worked for the United Nations in Ethiopia and was the husband of Ms Pellagia Muthoni, an official of Mr Gachagua’s DCP.
They warned that they would not leave “any mathematical chance” for President Ruto’s re-election in 2027, vowing to mobilise a cohesive, people-driven democratic movement to defeat him.
Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission chairperson Dr Erastus Edung Ethekon in Kisumu on November 26, 2025.
The opposition further accused President William Ruto of running the country through “constitutional shortcuts”.
They cited widespread corruption, institutional decay, questionable privatisation deals, substantial unbudgeted empowerment programmes, and human rights violations as evidence of this abuse.
But Mr Musyoka maintained: “Institutions are blameless; it is individuals who blemish them. Those who exhibit signs of being rogue will be sued.”
He added that abductions, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, corruption, and institutional collapse show that “President Ruto has carried into his presidency the same abhorrence for the Constitution he displayed earlier.”
President Ruto opposed the adoption of the 2010 Constitution, but after winning the 2022 presidential election, he swore to uphold it as part of his oath of office.
Mr Gachagua accused the President of panicking at the possibility that the opposition may roll back “the many personal and allied gains” he has allegedly accrued.
“That is why he is trying to scuttle the opposition. He resorts to unpresidential utterances, using brutality and insults against dissenters,” he said.
He claimed the government is focused on dividing and intimidating opposition leaders because it now realises “we mean business.”
“President Ruto and his handlers are especially scared that we in Mt Kenya have severed ties with him and are not part of his re-election bid,” he said.
DAP-K leader Eugene Wamalwa (left) and Wiper Patriotic Front leader Kalonzo Musyoka during the funeral service of Beryl Achieng' Odinga at Kang'o Ka Jaramogi in Bondo, Siaya County on December 6, 2025.
Mr Gachagua also warned against attempts to infiltrate the movement.
“We will not accept saboteurs sent by the government. Anyone who wants to win Mt Kenya must come through the front door. Those who want the backdoor won’t have it easy. This is a political family you least understand,” he continued.
DAP-Kenya leader Eugene Wamalwa said the government was selling “Rigathi-phobia” nationwide.
“They are trying to portray Mr Gachagua as a national bogeyman because his impact is giving them sleepless nights. Their agenda is to demolish the strong pillars of the opposition. If we lose Gachagua, we are done,” he said.
Further, Mr Musyoka praised Mr Gachagua’s political style.
“He speaks political truth to all.”
He said Wiper had warned President Ruto last year against impeaching Mr Gachagua.
“We feared the move was a national-security threat. We tried to save him and save the country. After President Ruto messed, we united with Gachagua to hold the country together.”
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