Gachagua: Why opposition should unveil 2027 presidential candidate 5 months to election

The Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua has opined that opposition leaders should agree on a joint presidential candidate privately and delay the public announcement until five months before the 2027 General Election, citing what he termed as President William Ruto's habit of harassing his political opponents.

Gachagua says announcing the candidate too early would expose them to intimidation by State agencies, potentially disrupting their campaigns before the election.

“William Ruto is a vicious, brutal president who harasses his opponents. If we unleash a candidate now, you have seen what he has done. Anytime he thinks Kalonzo is looking like he is the one, he goes for him hammer and tongs. When he thinks Edwin Sifuna is doing well, he goes for him. When he thinks Riggy G looks like he is going for something, he even hammers me and tries to interfere with my family,” Gachagua said during an interview on KTN News.

Gachagua claimed that publicly identifying the opposition’s presidential candidate too early could trigger malicious investigations, police action and other forms of intimidation that would make it difficult for the candidate to campaign.

“If today we say it is so-and-so, they will send KRA. They will send anti-corruption. They will send goons. They will put him under house arrest. They will harass the man or woman, for that matter, to a point where we may not be able to campaign,” he said.

According to the DCP boss, who expressed confidence in understanding Ruto's political tactics, the political environment changes in the final months before an election, when government officials and security officers become less willing to act on what he termed illegal orders.

“Four or five months before the elections, even the police refuse to take illegal orders. Four or five months before the elections, county commissioners refuse to take calls from government officers because they live in this country and they are also listening to the ground,” Gachagua said.

He further claimed that government agencies would become less inclined to act against opposition figures as the election approaches, saying officials would also recognise the possibility of political change.

“Even people at KRA, when they are told to open a file on you, just circumvent it and delay because they also know change is coming,” he said.

Gachagua maintained that the opposition should use the period before the public unveiling to build consensus on the candidate and prepare a coordinated campaign, arguing that timing would be central to its electoral strategy.

“We have not built a consensus on how to pick the presidential candidate. In my view, we agree quietly on the candidate early enough, but we unleash the candidate at the earliest five months before the election so that we build the right momentum,” he said.

The former DP defended his position by citing his involvement in election cycles dating back to the transition from a single-party system to multiparty politics in 1992.

He said he had been involved in the 1997, 2002, 2007, 2013, 2017 and 2022 elections, adding that his experience and understanding of Ruto gave him a basis to advise opposition leaders on the timing of their candidate’s announcement.

“I also know William Ruto. I was his deputy; none of my colleagues was his deputy. I worked with this man,” he said.

Gachagua thus urged opposition leaders to trust his judgement as they work towards agreeing on a joint presidential candidate, maintaining that strategy would be critical to building momentum ahead of the 2027 polls.