Matiang'i holds talks with Sifuna team in unity bid

Jubilee Party presidential candidate Fred Matiang'i and Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna. [Courtesy, Standard]

Former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i on Tuesday held talks with Linda Mwananchi leaders as efforts to agree on a joint Opposition presidential candidate between the Edwin Sifuna-led team and the Rigathi Gachagua-Kalonzo Musyoka alliance intensified.

Matiang’i, the de facto Jubilee Party presidential candidate, met Siaya Governor James Orengo, Embakasi East MP Babu Owino and Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka. Sources said he urged them to support his presidential bid in next year’s election.

The meeting, a follow-up to an earlier one he held with Sifuna at his private office in Karen, underscored the importance of a united Opposition front against President William Ruto.

“Matiang’i first met Sifuna on Thursday last week and followed it up with a meeting involving other Linda Mwananchi leaders on Tuesday. In both meetings, the former Interior Cabinet Secretary proposed an alliance, arguing that Linda Mwananchi and the Jubilee Party share a common vision of liberating the country,” a source familiar with the discussions said.

The emergence of the Sifuna-Orengo axis within the Opposition has complicated the Gachagua-Kalonzo strategy on a power-sharing formula, with Sifuna increasingly being viewed as a key figure who could demand the running mate position.

A team led by former Agriculture Minister Kipruto Arap Kirwa, which has been tasked with spearheading coalition-building efforts, is expected to brief Opposition leaders on its preliminary findings regarding a formula for identifying a joint candidate.

On Sunday, Sifuna announced that his team was ready to join forces with other Opposition groups to strengthen efforts to unseat Ruto.

“I understand that the Gachagua-Kalonzo team can still send Ruto home by 2 pm. Even our team is capable of sending him home by 2 pm. But if we unite, it is possible to send him home by 6 am,” Sifuna told a rally in Thika.

While Sifuna’s team toured the Mt Kenya region, Kalonzo and his allies were in the Western region, where they declared their willingness to work with the Sifuna team to challenge Ruto’s re-election bid.

Sources within the Opposition indicated that while Kalonzo remains the preferred candidate to face Ruto, either Matiang’i or Sifuna could emerge as his running mate.

“As it stands, Kalonzo is favoured by most of the formulas being considered to identify a single presidential candidate for both the United Alternative Government and Linda Mwananchi teams. However, there is a delicate balancing act between choosing either Sifuna or Matiang’i as running mate, which explains why Matiang’i is reaching out to these leaders,” the source added.

On Tuesday, Matiang’i held a consultative forum with Jubilee Party aspirants from Nairobi County before attending a church service in Kiambu, where he rallied the Mt Kenya region to support his presidential ambitions.

As Matiang’i consolidated his support base, Gachagua continued with the second day of his 45-day engagements in Wamunyoro, where he met delegations from Nyandarua and Kiambu counties to discuss the Ol Kalou by-election slated for July 16.

“This was the first team I have engaged, and I am delighted. I assure them that, in exercising the mandate they have given me to engage other leaders, I will be guided by their advice and views. Extensive consultations continue,” he said.