{"id":18024,"date":"2026-01-12T03:28:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T03:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/18024\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T03:28:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T03:28:11","slug":"uhurus-shadow-looms-large-in-opposition-unity-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/18024\/","title":{"rendered":"Uhuru\u2019s shadow looms large in opposition unity push"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\nFormer President Uhuru Kenyatta and Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka undertook an extensive tour of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria, on January 3, 2026Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta\u2019s influence is once again
\ncasting a long shadow over opposition politics.<\/p>\n


\n
\nFresh alignments and manoeuvres ahead of the 2027 General
\nElection are exposing both his enduring clout and the fragility of unity in the
\nUnited Opposition.<\/p>\n


\n
\nUhuru is increasingly being linked to an emerging push for a
\nKalonzo Musyoka-Fred Matiang\u2019i ticket, a line-up that, if it works out, would
\nsignificantly reshape the opposition landscape.<\/p>\n


\n
\nHis recent high-profile engagements with Wiper party leader
\nKalonzo Musyoka in Nigeria have only fuelled speculation about his role in
\nquietly steering the direction of opposition succession politics.<\/p>\n


\n
\nUhuru and Kalonzo spent at least three days together in
\nLagos, Nigeria, where they attended several engagements, including meetings
\nwith former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.<\/p>\n


\n
\nThe two leaders also jointly addressed winners and alumni of
\nthe Future Africa Leaders Awards at Omnia Towers in Lagos, presenting a united
\nfront on leadership and governance issues in Africa.<\/p>\n


\n
\nTheir trip extended beyond Lagos to Ogun State, where they
\nundertook an extensive tour of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library.<\/p>\n


\n
\nThe visit exposed the leaders to exhibitions chronicling
\nNigeria\u2019s democratic evolution, regional peace initiatives and Obasanjo\u2019s role
\nin shaping governance across Africa.<\/p>\n


\n
\nCollections highlighting Africa\u2019s place in global diplomacy
\nand sustainable development further reinforced the continental framing of their
\nengagement.<\/p>\n


\n
\nBack home, however, political observers are reading deeper
\ndomestic implications into the visit.<\/p>\n


\n
\nMakueni Senator Dan Maanzo, a close ally of Kalonzo, told
\nthe Star there are talks between Uhuru and Kalonzo, saying the recent meetings
\n\u201ccannot be for nothing\u201d.<\/p>\n


\n
\n\u201cUhuru wishes the best for this country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n


\n
\n\u201cMatiang\u2019i is seeking to be President but hasn\u2019t been
\nelected before. So they are talking and they have been consulting.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n
\nHe said the two leaders are to jointly visit Raila\u2019s home on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n


\n
\nHe added that there are attempts to hijack Jubilee in the
\nlarger scheme to destabilise the United Opposition.<\/p>\n


\n
\nThe visible closeness between Uhuru and Kalonzo revives
\nmemories of the 2022 Azimio coalition formation, during which Uhuru was widely
\nreported to have played a decisive role in persuading Kalonzo to back Raila
\nOdinga\u2019s presidential bid despite not being offered the running mate position.<\/p>\n


\n
\nAt the same time, Uhuru is also widely perceived as the
\ndriving force behind Matiang\u2019i, his former powerful Interior CS.<\/p>\n


\n
\nUhuru, who remains the Jubilee party leader, last year
\nendorsed Matiang\u2019i for the top job, expressing confidence in his leadership
\ncredentials given his record in different dockets.<\/p>\n


\n
\nHowever, these manoeuvres are unfolding at a moment when the
\nUnited Opposition is struggling with internal cohesion.<\/p>\n


\n
\nThe Kalonzo-Rigathi Gachagua axis has increasingly appeared
\nto sideline the Jubilee wing, raising questions about the role Uhuru\u2019s party
\nwill ultimately play in the opposition arrangement.<\/p>\n


\n
\nSome political analysts have predicted that both Kalonzo and
\nMatiang\u2019i will be on the ballot, offering President Ruto an easier chance for a
\nsecond term.<\/p>\n


\n
\nThis dynamic places Gachagua in an awkward position because
\nwhile he has developed close political ties with Kalonzo, including publicly
\npledging to rally millions of votes for him in the Mt Kenya region, the former
\nDP has been openly sceptical of Jubilee\u2019s involvement in the opposition.<\/p>\n


\n
\nThe DCP leader has urged Matiang\u2019i not to join the United
\nOpposition under the Jubilee banner, given that such a move would dilute the
\ninfluence of his Democracy for the Citizens Party in Mt Kenya.<\/p>\n


\n
\nInstead, Gachagua has suggested that Matiang\u2019i should form a
\nnew political party with roots in the Kisii region.<\/p>\n


\n
\nGachagua has also questioned Jubilee\u2019s political identity,
\nopenly expressing confusion over whether the party considers itself part of the
\ngovernment or the opposition. This ambiguity, he argues, undermines trust and
\ncomplicates coalition-building efforts.<\/p>\n


\n
\nDespite this, his cooperation with Kalonzo has deepened,
\nwith the two reportedly agreeing on arrangements that would allow DCP to field
\ncandidates for governor, senator and woman representative in Nairobi, as well
\nas several parliamentary seats in the capital.<\/p>\n


\n
\nUhuru\u2019s re-emergence in opposition politics has not gone
\nunnoticed by the broad-based government.<\/p>\n


\n
\nSome leaders aligned to President William Ruto have accused
\nUhuru of undermining the Kenya Kwanza administration by actively shaping
\nopposition strategy from behind the scenes.<\/p>\n


\n
\nThe criticism has also come from ODM, with legislators
\nallied to the President accusing Uhuru of fuelling divisions within the Orange
\nparty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Former President Uhuru Kenyatta and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18025,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[11304,80,11305,2555,98,100,101,99,1224],"class_list":{"0":"post-18024","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-kenya","8":"tag-kalonzo","9":"tag-kenya","10":"tag-musyoka","11":"tag-opposition","12":"tag-star-news","13":"tag-star-news-kenya","14":"tag-the-star","15":"tag-the-star-newspaper","16":"tag-uhuru"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18024\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}