Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has signalled that he could support Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna for president in 2027 and even serve as his running mate.
Speaking to Kenyans in Spokane, Washington, Gachagua said opposition leaders should be willing to set aside personal ambitions if the numbers point to a stronger candidate.
“If we do our arithmetic and find Sifuna, so be it. Even I, Riggy G, can deputise Sifuna. Sifuna can deputise me,” he said.
He also suggested other combinations involving Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka.
“Sifuna can deputise Kalonzo. Kalonzo can deputise Sifuna,” Gachagua said, arguing that the opposition could find a ticket that combines experience with younger leadership.
A direct response to Atwoli
Gachagua’s comments came a day after Central Organisation of Trade Unions Secretary-General Francis Atwoli questioned whether Sifuna was ready for the presidency.
Atwoli said Sifuna had a future in national politics but argued that the time had not yet come for him to seek the country’s highest office.
“The time is not ripe for the young man. The time is not now for Edwin Sifuna,” Atwoli said at a UDA Western Region aspirants’ meeting in Kisumu.
He also urged Sifuna to first build a political team and establish himself across the country before mounting a presidential campaign.
Gachagua rejected that argument.
He pointed to Sifuna’s age, saying the senator, at 44, was old enough to seek the presidency. He also cited former US presidents Barack Obama and Theodore Roosevelt as examples of leaders who reached the White House while relatively young.
“I have told my younger brother, Edwin Sifuna, don’t be discouraged by anybody. Go for it,” Gachagua said.
‘Leaders of today’
The former deputy president said Kenyan politics should move away from treating young politicians as leaders who must wait their turn.
“We cannot be telling our young leaders that they are the leaders of tomorrow,” he said. “I want to tell our young leaders they are the leaders of today, and they must fight for their space.”
Gachagua said he would be prepared to support whichever opposition candidate could convince voters that they offered the best chance of defeating President William Ruto in 2027.
That, he said, could be Sifuna, Kalonzo or himself.
“We are very serious presidential candidates, and Sifuna is one of them,” Gachagua said.
An opposition ticket still taking shape
Gachagua’s remarks underline how unsettled the opposition’s 2027 calculations remain.
Sifuna has been openly pursuing a presidential bid under the Linda Mwananchi movement. His ambitions have already drawn both support and criticism as political parties and leaders position themselves ahead of the election.
For Gachagua, the question appears less about who gets the top position and more about which combination can produce a winning coalition.
He said a ticket bringing together younger leaders and more experienced politicians was possible.
“We will come up with one, and you will love it,” he said.
However, no such ticket has been formally agreed. Gachagua’s comments amount to an opening offer in what is likely to be a long and contested process of opposition coalition-building before the 2027 election.
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