Murang'a Governor Irungu Kang'ata has backed Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna as the United Opposition's strongest candidate to beat President William Ruto in the 2027 General Election. He made the remarks in an interview on Citizen TV, Pulse Live Kenya reported. "The greatest engine of opposition from where I sit is Sifuna," Kang'ata said.
Sifuna leads the Linda Mwananchi Movement party. He is one of several opposition leaders chasing the presidential ticket. According to Pulse Live Kenya, the others are Wiper Patriotic Movement leader Kalonzo Musyoka, DCP leader Rigathi Gachagua, Jubilee's Fred Matiang'i and Eugene Wamalwa of DAP-Kenya. Kang'ata said the opposition has the numbers to win. He argued that Sifuna is the right choice because circumstances have made him appealing beyond his region.
Asked which pairing could beat Ruto, Kang'ata picked a ticket with Sifuna as flagbearer. Either Gachagua or Kalonzo would be his running mate. Kang'ata left UDA for Gachagua's DCP this year. He noted that his party leader has said he can do it, and so might Kalonzo, but said the matter is still up for discussion. "I think, opposition has more cards than any other party," he said.
Kang'ata also addressed reports that the government is wooing Kalonzo to become Ruto's running mate. He said that if Kalonzo replaced Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, the fallout would help the opposition. In his view, Sifuna could then win over more voters and fill any gap the move left. He added that he believes the Wiper leader will not leave the opposition.
The governor argued that the government boxed itself in when it chose Kindiki as Deputy President. He said Kindiki has been very faithful, so dropping him would look bad, even to people who do not support the government. "The government has no way how to kick him out without incurring any political losses," Kang'ata said. He said he believes Kindiki will stay on the ticket. That means the government loses the chance to use the number two seat to win more votes, he argued.
The Pulse Live Kenya report did not include any response from Sifuna, Kalonzo or the presidency.