Opposition to pick 2027 presidential flagbearer by March 2026, says Kalonzo

Wiper Patriotic Front party leader Kalonzo Musyoka addresses members of the press on December 30, 2025. [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard]

As the 2027 State House contest gathers momentum, Wiper Patriotic Front leader Kalonzo Musyoka has revealed that the United Opposition will settle on its presidential flagbearer before April next year. 

Speaking during a press briefing in Nairobi on Tuesday, Kalonzo dismissed talk of the opposition leaders being disjointed.

"By the first quarter of 2026, the name of our presidential candidate will be made known to Kenyans," Kalonzo said, reiterating his personal ambition to run for president. 

"I offer myself to serve this nation driven by the conviction that Kenya can and must do better and the mandate given to me by my party," he added.  

The former Vice President will battle for the opposition ticket alongside former Cabinet Secretaries Eugene Wamalwa, who leads the Democratic Action Party of Kenya, Fred Matiang'i fronted by Jubilee Party and People's Liberation Party leader Martha Karua. 

However, Kalonzo appears to be a favourite with hints of backing from the former Deputy President Rigathi Gahagua. 

The opposition’s move to pre-announce its flagbearer timeline comes amid growing criticism from President Ruto, who has repeatedly aimed at the "fragmented opposition," arguing that it lacks a coherent agenda and viable leadership alternatives. 

On several occasions over the past year, Ruto has dismissed his opponents’ strategy, saying that the absence of a united front or clear manifesto makes them ineffective challengers.

A day after the November by-elections, he mocked the opposition, arguing that losses by his rivals were a “warning” that voters are tired of leaders who focus on personal attacks and slogans instead of a substantive development plan. 

"Out of seven parliamentary seats, all of them were won by the broad-based government. Some people have no agenda and no plan. They will come here and tell you Kasongo, wantam and must go," The President said on November 28. 

He added: "They don't know how roads will be constructed; they only know the politics of tribalism and division. That is not an agenda." 

During his recent tour of the Ukambani region, he chided Kalonzo, accusing him of having nothing to show for his long career in leadership.

“If a person has been in leadership for 10 years, and has not built any road, no school, no church, is that a person to be elected?” Ruto posed.

However, Kalonzo defended himself, saying the sentiments by Ruto are "desperate political attacks" and not an "honest debate about development"

"I have walked this journey with you, and I have stood for justice when it was under attack by the very people who are supposed to be its first line of defence. I have defended the Constitution when others sought to undermine it, and I have defended Kenyans in our courts of law when they have been abducted and tortured," he noted. 

Meanwhile, he also vehemently rejected calls by Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi for a constitutional referendum, labelling the move a "diversionary tactic" designed to manipulate the 2027 General Election.

Kalonzo cautioned that the push to include a referendum alongside the August 2027 polls is a calculated attempt by the Kenya Kwanza administration to distract Kenyans from its failures and engineer a "backdoor" extension of power.

"The referendum diversion is meant to confuse and distract Kenyans so that they can manipulate the process and attempt to extend their grip on power through backdoor constitutional changes," Kalonzo stated, 

The Wiper boss further criticised Ruto's regime for presiding over an unbearable cost of living; unemployment that has reached crisis levels; normalised insecurity; collapsed healthcare; and a burdening education system. 

And in reflecting this year, which he described as a year of "profound loss," he urged Kenyans to "honour our fallen friends by committing ourselves to a Kenya where no young person will ever again pay with their life for demanding justice."