Why Kalonzo and Gachagua are sending coded messages to Raila

From left: Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and DAP-K leader Eugene Wamalwa during the launch of the new DAP-K party headquarters in Karen, Nairobi, on January 27, 2025. [Collins Oduor, Standard]

Kalonzo Musyoka and Rigathi Gachagua are two politicians in search of each other in the belief that they need each other. Both have served as Vice/Deputy President under difficult circumstances which, they believe, qualify them to lead the country. Their mutual focus is William Ruto, the president, and his frequent political buddy, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga. Although they would like Raila's support in the effort to remove Dr Ruto, they are not sure which game Raila is likely to play.

Having failed in the attempt to grab the African Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship in Addis Ababa, Raila and his team are back on the drawing board trying to figure out what to do next. Kalonzo and Gachagua, aware that the former PM can make each of them look foolish, spend time sending coded messages to Raila, hoping that he would abandon Ruto's political bedroom.