In a striking moment of political candor delivered more than 12,000 kilometers from Nairobi, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has declared that he would have no qualms serving as Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna's running mate in the 2027 presidential election, should the opposition coalesce around the youthful lawmaker as its best wager to unseat President William Ruto.
Addressing a jubilant gathering of Kenyans in Spokane, Washington, during his extended diaspora tour, Gachagua, ever the master of populist phrasing, put it bluntly.
“I’m willing and ready. By the way, there’s no problem. Even I, Riggy G, I can deputise Sifuna. Kwani iko makosa gani?” said Gachagua as the crowd erupted in cheers.
However, the statement was more than theatre. It was a calculated political signal that the opposition's notoriously fractious succession calculus is entering a new, more pragmatic phase.
Kenya's opposition has been wrestling with an embarrassment of riches and risks. The anti-Ruto coalition, anchored around Gachagua's Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP), Kalonzo Musyoka's Wiper, and elements of the post-ODM re-alignment, has several self-declared presidential hopefuls.
Gachagua himself has repeatedly insisted he has the mountain vote locked and therefore the numbers to mount a formidable challenge. Kalonzo has banked on his Ukambani bastion and long-standing national footprint. And Sifuna, the former ODM Secretary General and firebrand Nairobi Senator, has emerged as the disruptive outsider — articulate, urbane, and popular with urban youth and the Luhya diaspora.
The fear, whispered in opposition strategy circles, has been a classic Kenyan tragedy of splitting the vote and gifting Ruto a first-round win, or forcing a draining run-off. It is this fear Gachagua addressed head-on.
“We are very serious presidential candidates, and Sifuna is one of them. Riggy G here is a serious candidate. My cousin, Kalonzo Musyoka, is a serious candidate. And we can give to anybody, including Sifuna,” he said.
In essence, he was reframing the contest not as a contest of egos, but as a market of electability. Who, to use his own phrase, can “take Ruto home” most efficiently?
Gachagua's most pointed remarks were reserved for COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli, who had earlier dismissed Sifuna's ambition as premature, arguing the Senator should wait his turn.
Drawing comparisons with former US president Barack Obama, Gachagua argued that Sifuna, who is 44, is old enough to lead the country.
“The guy is 44 years. President Obama was elected President of the United States at 47. President Roosevelt of the United States was elected President at the age of 42. If at the age of 42 you can govern a country as large as United States, at 44, Kenya ni nini?” said Gachagua.
He cast the age debate as an obsolete gatekeeping tactic used by an older generation to stifle renewal.
“I have told my younger brother, Edwin Sifuna, don't be discouraged by anybody. Go for it,” he stated, adding that if Sifuna can persuade Kenyans of his vision, backing will inevitably follow.
This is not the first time Gachagua has championed youthful leaders. In previous interviews he has listed Embakasi East MP Babu Owino, Senator Methu and Kirinyaga Woman Rep Njeri Maina among a new cohort of capable leaders.
What makes the Spokane declaration remarkable is the former Deputy President's explicit willingness to contemplate personal political abnegation. While asserting his own strength, he conceded that coalition discipline must prevail.
Gachagua maintained that he would persuade his colleagues to support his own candidature but would give way if they concluded another candidate was better placed to lead the coalition.
“If I’m unsuccessful, and they persuade me otherwise, that for this man to go, I need to give way, I’ll give way,” he said.
Gachagua emphasized that the opposition should avoid a divided presidential contest and instead agree on one candidate capable of defeating Ruto in the first round.
“We don’t want to go for run-off. We want to finish with this guy round one. Tumalizane na yeye mapema tupeane heshima,” he said.
The opposition candidate, be it Kalonzo Musyoka, Edwin Sifuna or himself, Gachagua said, should receive the backing of all leaders aligned with the anti-Ruto camp.
Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has in recent weeks echoed similar remarks, as the opposition camp prepares for a highly anticipated face-off with the ruling Kenya Kwanza faction come August 2027.
