Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has dismissed claims that former President Uhuru Kenyatta is financing the opposition’s efforts against President William Ruto, saying the president has yet to provide evidence to support the allegation.
Sifuna, a leader of the Linda Mwananchi movement, was responding to remarks Ruto made in a recent interview with The Nation. The president was asked to substantiate claims that Uhuru was backing opposition politicians, including Sifuna and former Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i.
Instead of offering fresh evidence, President Ruto referred to a previous Sunday Nation report about efforts to build a broad opposition alliance ahead of the 2027 elections.
“You work for the Nation, right? Can you check the Sunday Nation headline of August 2. What was the headline? It says ‘Uhuru super coalition against Ruto’. You answered yourselves,” President Ruto said.
Sifuna reacted with laughter while recounting the exchange, questioning why the president had relied on a newspaper report when asked for evidence.
“Yule jamaa amebeba akili yote ya Kenya aliulizwa swali mboga sana, atoe evidence Uhuru ndio sponsor ya upinzani akasema hata yeye alisoma kwa gazeti,” Sifuna said.
The dispute comes as Kenya’s political parties and leaders begin positioning themselves for the 2027 presidential contest.
President Ruto and his allies have repeatedly linked Uhuru to efforts to unite opposition forces against the administration. Uhuru, however, has not publicly responded to the latest claims.
Sifuna has increasingly presented himself as part of the opposition’s effort to challenge President Ruto at the next election. His Linda Mwananchi movement is operating alongside a wider group of opposition figures seeking to build a common political front.
The field remains crowded. Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, former Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, Matiang’i and former Cabinet minister Martha Karua have all expressed presidential ambitions or positioned themselves for the contest.
The central challenge for the opposition will be whether the various camps can agree on a single candidate capable of mounting a serious challenge to President Ruto.
Sifuna’s allies believe he could fill that role. But with the election still ahead, the opposition’s final lineup and alliances remain unsettled.
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