The United Opposition has dismissed President William Ruto’s claims that he has no worthy opponent to challenge him in the 2027 general election.
Speaking after a meeting held at Kalonzo Musyoka’s command center on November 3, 2025, the opposition leaders said the process of selecting a single presidential candidate is in its final stages.
“The formula for getting a single presidential candidate to face William Ruto is on course. For those who have been in doubt, what is happening in these by-elections is an advance rehearsal of the formula and mechanism to get one candidate to face Ruto,” said Rigathi Gachagua, the party leader of the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP).
Gachagua further said that President Ruto should stop boasting about an early victory and instead prepare for stiff competition, emphasizing that his real opponents are the people of Kenya.
“I have heard William Ruto bragging that with the demise of Raila Odinga, he has no opponent. I would like to inform him that we are not his opponents — his opponents are the people of Kenya,” he added.
Ruto had earlier claimed during a public rally in Kakamega that no one in the opposition poses a threat to his re-election bid as Kenya’s fifth president.
“The only person who could compete with me is Raila Odinga. But these others, I will defeat them very early in the morning,” Ruto said.
The opposition principals revealed that they have jointly fronted candidates for the upcoming by-elections on November 27, 2025, to avoid splitting votes among their supporters. They warned both the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) to prepare for defeat — not only in the by-elections but also in the 2027 general election, describing the by-elections as a litmus test for their unity.
“We have been saying ‘one term,’ but one term is not possible if we are not one team. Through this by-election, we are going to show that we are united — and we’ll truly make William Ruto a one-term president,” said Eugene Wamalwa, leader of the Democratic Action Party (DAP).
The United Opposition reached a consensus to support DAP’s Seth Panyako in Malava Constituency, DCP’s Newton Karish in Mbeere North, DCP’s Stanley Kenga in Magarini, and Wiper Party’s Orodi Odhiambo in Ugunja.
The party leaders urged Kenyans to vote wisely in the upcoming by-elections to ensure that the UDA does not win additional seats, insisting that the ruling party’s term should end after a single term.
— By Timon Otieno
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