By Billy Mijungu
The 2027 presidential contest is shaping into a three horse race between Dr Fred Matiang’i, Kalonzo Musyoka and President William Ruto. Deputies will decide the balance of power. For Ruto, Kithure Kindiki must prove he can harvest at least two million votes from Mount Kenya. If Raila Odinga throws his weight behind Ruto, he will not come cheap. The deputy slot may be his price.
Matiang’i has a full basket of choices. Natembeya with fire, Eugene with networks, Munya with strategy, Waiguru with visibility. Kalonzo too has options in Martha Karua, Eugene Wamalwa or Cleophas Malala. The cards are on the table; the game is still young.
Just the other day, Matiang’i assembled more than 200 church leaders in Kajiado for what looked like his moment of endorsement. Then Kalonzo showed up uninvited. The meeting shifted. The tone changed. The spotlight moved. That was the mission. To cut Matiang’i down before he could rise.
But politics is not won by ambush. It is won by sweat. It is won by courage. It is won by building your crowd and testing your voice. Kalonzo’s intrusion robbed Matiang’i of the stage he had earned.
Those rushing for early unity in the opposition are wrong. They either do not understand politics or they are desperate to crown their favourite before others prove their strength. Coalitions are not built in silence. Coalitions are born from rivalry. They are tempered in fire. They are forged in conflict and hardened in negotiation. If you bury your differences too early, they will erupt later when the campaign is hottest.
Kenya has shown the script. NARC came from nowhere and won. PNU was barely three months old and took power. Jubilee rose in four months. UDA stormed in after three. None of them needed five years of holding hands. They fought, they clashed, they gathered, then they united and conquered.
That is why the opposition must remain divided now. Division is not weakness. Division is raw material. Scatter first, sharpen your steel, then return to the forge and build one sword. The strongest coalitions are born from the loudest rivalries.
So Matiang’i, return to Kajiado and reclaim your blessing. And Kalonzo, if you want to show your weight, call your own rally. Build your own thunder. Politics is not won in whispers, it is won in war cries. The flagbearer will not be chosen by shortcuts or invasions. He will be chosen by the roar of the people when the dust finally settles.
