Nairobi Senator and ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna.
The nascent Kenya Moja Alliance, led by ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna, on Tuesday hit out at former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua for labelling other opposition leaders as state projects.
Speaking to Nation, Mr Sifuna said the opposition risks disintegrating as a result of divisive utterances by some of its leaders, who he said are keen to isolate others for their selfish political ambitions.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna follows proceedings during a hearing of the Senate Energy committee at Parliament Buildings in Nairobi on Thursday last week.
He said the focus of the opposition should be to rally behind the broader agenda of denying President William Ruto a second term in office.
The vocal Nairobi Senator also claimed there is a scheme to railroad Kenyans into believing that only a few members of the United Opposition have a chance of challenging President Ruto at the ballot.
The remarks by Mr Sifuna come a day after the new formation announced its plan to field a presidential candidate.
“As young leaders, we are extremely disappointed by some of the pronouncements coming from sections of the United Opposition. A vast majority of Kenyans want Ruto to be a one-term president. No one wants Ruto gone more than the other,” said Mr Sifuna.
He said it was, therefore, unfortunate for some leaders to pretend to gatekeep the one-term movement while calling others projects.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
He added: “Some of us were singing ‘Ruto must go’ in 2023 when Gachagua was still with Ruto. So, when did he become the sole custodian of the one-term movement? What we need is language that will unite all the forces of good to secure our future, not divisive ‘mole hunting’.”
The formation – made up of youthful politicians drawn from across the political divide – appears to be pulling out all the stops in challenging the country’s political status quo by refusing to align with the two major coalitions ahead of the next polls.
Alternative leadership
On Sunday, the team announced its plan to offer alternative leadership away from the broad-based team made up of President Ruto and veteran politician Raila Odinga on one hand, and the United Opposition that brings together Mr Gachagua, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, DAP-K leader Eugene Wamalwa, and Martha Karua of the People’s Liberation Party on the other.
“Let Kenyans not be straight-jacketed into thinking they have limited options when it comes to national leadership. The people who are better than Ruto in this country number in the millions, and we cannot be restricted to the five or so in the United Opposition,” Mr Sifuna said on Tuesday.
Mr Gachagua, on Sunday, in an interview with KTN, claimed that President Ruto had planted moles in the Opposition to cause division and confusion ahead of the 2027 General Election.
“Ruto has planted a lot of moles in the opposition. He has infiltrated our various parties. So they are being used by William Ruto to cause problems within the opposition. We have told leaders to be careful,” said Mr Gachagua, who is the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) leader.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and interim Deputy Party leader Cleophas Malala after unveiling their new political outfit, the Democracy for the Citizens Party in Lavington, Nairobi on May 15, 2025.
DCP deputy leader Cleophas Malala recently accused the Jubilee Party of former President Uhuru Kenyatta of plotting to destabilise DCP and undermine the popularity of Mr Gachagua in Mt Kenya.
Mr Malala claimed Jubilee was working with President Ruto’s camp to divide Mt Kenya, a region where Mr Gachagua has been working to consolidate support since leaving government.
“I don’t come from the mountain, and thus I can speak and, in the evening, go back to Kakamega and eat my ugali. That party (Jubilee) must be warned not to cause chaos if they are indeed part of the United Opposition,” Mr Malala declared.
He suggested Jubilee had aligned itself with Dr Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA), citing what he termed as symbolic ‘red wheelbarrows’ being unveiled in Mt Kenya.
President William Ruto delivers his speech during the centenary celebrations of the Pentecostal Assemblies of God (PAG) Church in Kenya at Nyang’ori High School, Vihiga County, on October 4, 2025.
“If you work with Kasongo (Ruto) and have been sent with a red wheelbarrow, this is not a party that wants good for our party leader and DCP at large,” Mr Malala charged.
But Jubilee Secretary-General Jeremiah Kioni accused the former Deputy President of trying to strong-arm former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i into abandoning Jubilee during coalition negotiations. According to Mr Kioni, Mr Gachagua even directed Dr Matiang’i to sidestep Jubilee and instead front a ‘smaller Kisii-based outfit’.
“He is a project of President Ruto and is simply trying to hoodwink Kenyans,” Mr Kioni said of Mr Gachagua.
