Ndindi Nyoro may have had a better chance of becoming a powerful presidential running mate if he had waited for the right political moment, former National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) Commissioner Prof Gitile Naituli has said.
Naituli said the Kiharu MP has the intelligence, economic knowledge and political ability needed for a national leadership role, but argued that his decision to position himself for the presidency too early could work against him.
Speaking to Radio Generation on Friday, Naituli said Nyoro could have been an ideal running mate for Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, but questioned the strategy behind his growing presidential ambitions.
“Ndindi Nyoro is an extremely brilliant Kenyan who, in my view, would have made a perfect running mate to Sifuna. However, I believe his timing is wrong.”
Naituli's remarks come as Nyoro increases his political activities ahead of the August 2027 General Election.
The Kiharu MP left the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) in August and took charge of the People’s Party of Kenya (PPK), moving the party closer to the opposition side of the political divide.
Since then, he has embarked on a nationwide mobilisation drive and said he is ready to make a presidential bid. At the same time, Nyoro has supported calls for opposition parties and leaders to settle on one candidate to face the ruling side in 2027.
His move has raised questions about whether he will continue with his own presidential ambitions or eventually become part of a wider presidential team as a running mate.
Naituli compared Nyoro's position with that of former presidential candidate Peter Kenneth, saying political timing can be just as important as a candidate's ability and record.
“He has put himself in much the same position as Peter Kenneth did. Kenneth was also a high-performing MP who had transformed Gatanga, but he went for the presidency in 2013 at a time when the Mount Kenya region had already settled on Uhuru Kenyatta.”
Nyoro has built a strong political profile since entering Parliament as Kiharu MP. He also chaired the National Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee and became one of the leading supporters of President William Ruto's Kenya Kwanza administration before their political relationship later broke down.
His knowledge of economics has been a major part of his public image. However, Naituli said political success also depends on how leaders plan their moves and how voters are likely to view them.
“Now Nyoro has disappointed them because he understands economics very well. He is very clever, I can see that, but also he is not strategic. See, strategic means that whatever you do, you have thought it through, and you have looked at its implications. How will it be interpreted? He has not been strategic, and that is a major weakness.”
Nyoro's presidential ambitions are also developing at a time when several other leaders are already positioning themselves for the 2027 contest.
The July 2026 Infotrak Voice of the People poll listed Nyoro among possible presidential candidates, but placed him in the “Others” category, which collectively received 1% support.
The group also included George Natembeya, Eugene Wamalwa, Okiya Omtatah, Ekuru Aukot, George Wajackoyah and Jimmy Wanjigi. The survey interviewed 3,000 adults between June 22 and 26, 2026.
President William Ruto led the poll with 32%, followed by Kalonzo Musyoka with 13%. Sifuna and Fred Matiang’i each received 12%, while former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua had 4%. Another 18% of those surveyed were undecided.
The Infotrak poll also showed that the race to identify a running mate remains unsettled.
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki led among possible choices linked to the broad-based government at 34%. He was followed by Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga at 11%, Oburu Oginga at 5% and former Mombasa governor Hassan Joho at 4%.
Anne Waiguru received 3%, while Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetang’ula each had 2%. Thirty-seven percent of respondents said they were unsure.
Naituli said the figures show just how open the running-mate debate remains and suggested Nyoro might have been better placed had he allowed a wider political alliance to identify him for the position instead of creating his own political vehicle.
Despite this, Nyoro's decision to move away from UDA and into opposition politics has given him another path to national politics.
He has called on opposition leaders to agree on a single presidential candidate and has said he would back an agreed candidate, even if that person is not him.
Opposition discussions have in recent months included possible political combinations involving Kalonzo Musyoka, Fred Matiang’i, Edwin Sifuna and Rigathi Gachagua.
A May 2026 TIFA poll placed a Kalonzo-Matiang’i ticket as the most preferred of the tested opposition pairings at 31%. It was followed by Kalonzo-Sifuna at 28% and Gachagua-Kalonzo at 25%.
However, Naituli said Nyoro's past association with the government could continue to affect how voters view him.
“Having his own party, people see him as a Ruto project.”
According to Naituli, that perception may remain even after Nyoro's departure from UDA and his move into opposition politics.
The former NCIC Commissioner also referred to Nyoro's role during major political events, including the debate around the Finance Bill 2024 and the removal of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
The National Assembly voted 281-44 to impeach Gachagua in October 2024. The Senate later voted 54-13 to remove him from office on October 17, 2024.
For Naituli, Nyoro's biggest challenge is therefore not his ability or knowledge, but whether his political choices can help him build support across the country.
Nyoro now faces a key political decision as 2027 approaches: continue pushing his own presidential bid through PPK or seek a place within a wider opposition alliance as a compromise candidate or running mate.