Nandi– Nandi County Senator Samson Cherargei believes the country’s opposition is doing President William Ruto a favor.
Speaking on Thursday during a morning interview with a local television , Cherargei dismissed the recent push to form a new opposition coalition as a hollow attempt to seize power. In his view, it’s more about regional influence than national unity and that, he says, plays right into Ruto’s hands ahead of the 2027 general election.
“It’s unfortunate that most of these political parties are now regional or tribal,” he said. “Whether they launch new political parties, I don’t think they will unsettle President Ruto.”
The comments come at a time of heightened political activity. A group of opposition leaders, including Martha Karua, Eugene Wamalwa, Fred Matiang’i, and Kalonzo Musyoka, are reportedly in talks to form a joint political outfit that could challenge the president.
But Cherargei isn’t convinced. “They will never settle on any candidate to face President Ruto in the 2027 elections,” he added. “Now it allows President Ruto to cruise at the highest speed to the second term.”
At the centre of the realignment is former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who launched a new party the Democracy for Citizens Party aimed at consolidating political support in the Mount Kenya region. He has hinted at negotiations with fellow leaders to select a single opposition flagbearer.
Yet that prospect has so far yielded little in the way of concrete unity, and the fractures within the opposition remain visible. Cherargei argues that rather than offering a credible alternative, the splintering is weakening the opposition’s cause.
“It is very tragic that we are going back to discussing regional and tribal parties just to capture power,” he said. “This opposition will not be formidable.”
Gachagua, who recently exited the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA), has framed his new outfit as a vehicle to restore political influence to Mount Kenya. His departure followed public fallout with the president and other top UDA figures.
In recent weeks, other leaders have echoed Cherargei’s view. MP Mark Nyamita, speaking earlier this week, dismissed the emerging opposition as disjointed. “Gachagua is a tribalist, Karua has no influence,” he said. “There is no formidable force to oust Ruto.”
Still, some political observers say it’s too early to write off the opposition entirely. Kenya’s electoral politics are notoriously fluid, and alliances can shift rapidly. Whether the current discontent can be channelled into a coherent challenge remains to be seen.
But for now, Senator Cherargei sees no serious threat on the horizon. “New parties can only divide Kenyans further,” he said. “What we need is national dialogue, not tribal calculations.”
With the clock ticking toward 2027, Kenya’s political battlefield is taking shape. Whether this new opposition front will harden into a serious force or collapse under its own weight could determine the country’s future leadership.
