Stop Wooing Sifuna, Karua, and Matiang’i, Gachagua Tells Ruto Ahead of 2027 Polls
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has launched a weekend political offensive aimed at locking President William Ruto out of Opposition ranks and rallying Mt. Kenya voters against leaders he accuses of betraying the region ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Speaking across two public appearances in Kiambu and Nyeri counties over the weekend, the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader dismissed recent polling that portrayed him as the biggest source of division within the Opposition.
A survey released on November 12 by TIFA Research and Consulting found that 43 percent of Opposition supporters blamed Gachagua for internal disagreements among Opposition leaders. President Ruto and the ruling UDA administration came second at 15 percent, while Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna was cited by seven percent.
Addressing worshippers at AIC Bathi in Kimende, Kiambu County, on Sunday, Gachagua rejected the poll findings and insisted he is the main figure working to unite rival camps behind a single presidential candidate.
“That recent poll that said Gachagua is the divisive leader in Opposition is misleading. I am the one bringing the Opposition together,” he said.
Gachagua told President Ruto to stop trying to woo Opposition figures, stating that key leaders he had met individually had committed to staying united and backing one candidate in 2027. He named Sifuna, Jubilee Party leader Fred Matiang’i, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, and People’s Liberation Party leader Martha Karua among those who had ruled out working with the President.
“Ruto, let me tell you not to wait for anybody from the Opposition. They are not available. Do not wait for Sifuna, he is not available,” Gachagua said.
He added that Karua and Matiang’i had also dismissed any possibility of joining the government. “Martha Karua has confirmed to us, she can never join Ruto. You already know Martha, do not even wait for her. Don’t wait for Matiang’i and me, of course you know my stand,” he said.
According to Gachagua, Sifuna swore never to abandon the Opposition, and all the leaders agreed that no one would defect to Ruto’s camp once they settle on a joint flagbearer. He promised to make sacrifices to facilitate those talks, saying Kenyans will begin seeing visible progress in Opposition unity negotiations before Christmas.
“Before Christmas we will start to see how things are shaping. Opposition will not split under my watch. I will be working very hard to unite the Opposition,” he said.
A day earlier, on Saturday, Gachagua used the burial of his elder sister, Eunice Nyangari, in Kieni, Nyeri County, to frame the 2027 contest in Mt. Kenya as a battle between community “heroes” and “traitors.”
Drawing parallels with the 1950s Mau Mau struggle against British colonial rule, Gachagua recounted how his family suffered after colonial Governor Sir Evelyn Baring declared a State of Emergency in 1952. He said his late father, Gachagua Reriani, made guns for Mau Mau fighters while his mother supplied them with food and intelligence.
Gachagua told mourners that local home guards collaborating with colonial authorities repeatedly betrayed his family, leading to raids on their home when his late sister was between four and six years old. He said the trauma left her deeply opposed to community collaborators, a trait he claimed to have inherited.
“She dreaded collaborators and ‘traitors’ of the community. I have taken it from her. I am personally allergic to ‘traitors’ of our community. I am allergic,” he said.
Turning the family history into a campaign message for the Agikuyu community, Gachagua urged voters to treat their national identity cards and ballots as weapons to reclaim political influence in 2027.
“History is repeating itself. The ‘traitors’ are back. The journey we face next year I look at it as a replica of the Mau Mau movement. The only difference, we are not going to the bush. We are not taking the guns and the bullets. Our gun is the ID and our bullet is the vote,” he said.
He also cited the capture of Mau Mau leader Dedan Kimathi, claiming the two home guards who helped British forces kill him were paid Sh8 and used the money to buy a minibus that failed to attract passengers before being sold at a loss 30 years later. Gachagua warned that Mt. Kenya leaders allied to the government would suffer a similar political fate.
“I want to tell those leaders who have betrayed our people; you will suffer the same fate,” he said.
Mt. Kenya, which played a central role in Ruto’s 2022 election victory, has experienced deepening political divisions since Gachagua was impeached in October 2024. Since his ouster, Gachagua has sought to consolidate regional backing behind the DCP while challenging politicians who remain aligned with the ruling administration.
