Gachagua, Sifuna eye joint presidential strategy against Ruto

A powerful political wave is expected to sweep across the country from this weekend, when Rigathi Gachagua’s Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) and Edwin Sifuna’s Linda Mwananchi outfit hold their first joint rally in Nyahururu.

Fresh details emerging from a meeting held at Wamunyoro on Tuesday indicate that a series of joint meetings between the two camps will continue in the coming weeks.

Gachagua has also invited Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka to his Wamunyoro residence on Monday for talks centred on opposition unity.

“They will deal with many issues, including deepening conversations on the opposition fielding a joint presidential candidate to go up against President William Ruto in the 2027 elections. Gachagua will also brief him on the discussions he held with Linda Mwananchi and the latest developments,” said a source close to the former Deputy President.

Thereafter, Gachagua is expected to meet former President Uhuru Kenyatta at his Ichaweri home as opposition realignment against Ruto’s bid for re-election in 2027 gathers pace.

Gachagua, who spoke to The Standard on Wednesday, offered a glimpse of Tuesday’s meeting, describing it as one of many engagements he plans to hold with leaders across the political divide, with the aim of building a coalition to unseat Ruto.

“I have urged the Luhya community to support me if political calculations favour me and even support Kalonzo if the arithmetic favors him. I also promised to marshal our support to Sifuna if the calculations favor him,” said the former Deputy President.

He said Sifuna’s team had indicated that it wanted to join his camp in a joint bid to send Ruto home over what they described as atrocities committed against Kenyans.

“Since my departure to the United States, Ruto had started gaining weight, but I’m now back and things will be tough on him. More leaders are on their way to Wamunyoro where we shall craft a strategy to send him to Sugoi,” he added.

Sources who attended Tuesday’s hour-long meeting said leaders from Linda Mwananchi and DCP  had agreed to hold a joint rally in Nyahururu to mobilise support for the opposition before identifying other areas across the country where they would campaign under their “wantam” agenda.

Key target areas include the Mt Kenya and Western regions, which together account for an estimated 10 million votes. If consolidated behind a single candidate, the regions could play a decisive role in the 2027 presidential election.

“The joint weekend rally is however awaiting Linda Mwananchi’s confirmation as they had indicated that they had a planned tour of Kwale county,” said a source who sought anonymity.

The Kwale tour was originally scheduled for Saturday, October 31, and would mark the return of Linda Mwananchi’s high-profile public engagements after weeks of inactivity. The outfit’s last major rally was held on September 30 at the Jacaranda grounds in Nairobi.

Although no power-sharing agreement was reportedly discussed during Tuesday’s meeting, sources said the possibility of an alliance between DCP and Linda Mwananchi featured prominently in the talks.

Leaders familiar with the discussions said Sifuna and Gachagua had agreed to explore the possibility of forming an alliance before engaging other parties within the united opposition, including Kalonzo’s Wiper Party, Martha Karua’s People’s Liberation Party (PLP), Justin Muturi’s Democratic Party (DP), Eugene Wamalwa’s DAP-K and the Fred Matiang’i-led Jubilee Party, among others.

“Given the numerical strengths of the Mt Kenya and Western regions, the plan is to have Gachagua and Sifuna form an Alliance or Coalition which they will then use to negotiate with other players within the opposition. It is expected that when going to the negotiation table, DCP and Linda Mwananchi will not be going as individual parties but as an alliance,” the source added.

Structured engagements between the two camps are expected to begin after October 30, when Sifuna is scheduled to unveil The Equity Party (TEP).

TEP was launched on October 4, 2026, with Sifuna unveiled as its party leader and presidential candidate for the 2027 General Election.

Shortly afterwards, TEP gazetted a change of name to Linda Mwananchi Movement (LMM). In a letter dated October 13, 2026, Registrar of Political Parties John Lorionokou said his office had reviewed the documents submitted in support of the proposed name change and had commenced the gazettement process under Section 20(1)(d) of the Political Parties Act.

If all goes according to plan, sources said, the October 30 event will be used to unveil the Linda Mwananchi Movement.

However, Sifuna faces a hurdle in securing clearance for LMM after LINDA founder and treasurer Purity Ndanu contested TEP’s rebranding on October 18.

In a submission to the Registrar of Political Parties, LINDA objected to the adoption of the name “Linda Mwananchi Movement”, citing two active court cases pending before the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT).

The party said Case Number PPDTC/E020/2026 and Case Number PPDTA/E001/2026 were awaiting hearing and determination. It argued that changing the party’s name or identity while the matters remained unresolved would be premature and legally contested.

Meanwhile, Kalonzo’s expected visit to Wamunyoro signals efforts by Wiper and DCP to resolve their ideological differences ahead of the planned structured engagements. Discussions on electoral arithmetic and a possible agreement on leadership in Nairobi are expected to feature in the talks.

Although Kalonzo has previously advocated broader coalition structures, including the Ukombozi Alliance, DCP leaders — including Deputy Party Leader Cleophas Malala — initially indicated that the party would first consolidate its position through grassroots movements such as Linda Mwananchi and with Nairobi Senator Sifuna before formalising a wider merger.

The two camps have also differed over the fielding of candidates in areas such as Nairobi.

In December 2025, Gachagua triggered a political storm after claiming that his party should field candidates for elective seats in Nairobi County in the 2027 General Election.

Gachagua alleged that he had reached an agreement with Kalonzo to allow DCP to field candidates in Nairobi, with Wiper backing the party in 16 of the county’s 17 seats. He also claimed DCP would receive the gubernatorial, senatorial and woman representative tickets.

Kalonzo, however, denied the deal, saying: “Stop this propaganda that Wiper has left all the seats in Nairobi for DCP. They have to try everything to create tensions between us...We are calling our colleagues to sit together. There's nothing seriously wrong, and we will take a collective stand,” Kalonzo noted.