The emerging opposition alliance is facing an early test over who gets to set the terms of engagement, with Rigathi Gachagua’s Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) insisting it will not surrender its independent political identity in pursuit of a wider coalition.
DCP says it wants to spend more time building its support across the country and establishing its political weight before entering any major agreement with other opposition parties. The position puts the party on a different path from Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, the convener of the Ukombozi Alliance, who has said DCP is among the parties he wants to bring into the coalition.
Ukombozi Alliance was launched on September 21 following the rebranding of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition, which former President Uhuru Kenyatta had assembled in an unsuccessful effort to secure the presidency for Raila Odinga.
The new alliance is seeking to bring together more opposition parties as the 2027 election approaches. However, DCP's response has exposed disagreements over the role individual parties should play, who should be recognised as major opposition leaders and how political strength should be measured.
DCP Council of Eminent Persons chairman Maina Kamanda said the party believes it can mobilise more than eight million votes. He said that position means DCP must carefully assess the strength that other parties would bring to any proposed coalition.
"Mr Gachagua has mobilised a majority of Mt Kenya voters under DCP. He has reached out to the Maa and Kipsigis communities. He is a national movement on his own," he said.
Kamanda also named the leaders DCP considers to have enough political influence to be regarded as major principals within the opposition.
"DCP only rates Gachagua, Edwin Sifuna, Eugene Wamalwa and Kalonzo Musyoka as the only impactful principals. We will not pretend for long or hide from that fact forever," he said.
His position has found support among several leaders in recent weeks, including Murang'a Governor Irungu Kang'ata, Kajiado North MP Onesmus Ngogoyo, Naivasha MP Jane Kihara and Manyatta MP Gitonga Mukunji.
Former Jubilee Party National Executive Council member Pauline Njoroge has also argued for a smaller group of opposition principals, saying political parties alone should not determine who qualifies for such a position.
According to Njoroge, leaders should demonstrate national influence and strong regional support rather than rely only on ownership of a political party.
The DCP leadership has also raised concerns about the value it would get from joining a coalition after investing in building its own support.
Kamanda said the party did not want to spend heavily on expanding its political base only to hand the resulting gains to parties that had invested less in their own growth.
DCP Deputy Party Leader Cleophas Malala has meanwhile outlined a model in which the party could work with Sifuna without becoming part of Ukombozi.
"The DCP plus Sifuna equals an independent force. Ukombozi is another force. Those two forces can only negotiate on how to approach the 2027 General Election as independent entities" he said on September 22.
Gachagua has similarly maintained that DCP should first strengthen its grassroots network before considering coalition negotiations.
During his ongoing tour of the United States, he said opposition parties should focus on building their individual support bases before seeking to unite.
"We will only consider alliances after we have fully consolidated our support base. This is not time for closing ranks. I advise other political parties in the opposition to strengthen themselves first, mobilise their support bases and aspire to get believable, bankable and impactful numbers to table"" he said on September 19.
Gachagua said any eventual attempt to remove a sitting president would depend on the strength of the numbers assembled by the opposition.
"Removing a sitting president is not a walk in the park. It is not an easy task. Removing him will be a game of numbers," he said.
Despite maintaining that he is DCP's presidential candidate, Gachagua has left room for another candidate if opposition parties agree on one person to carry their ticket.
"We have made a public commitment that we are for one presidential candidate from the opposition. I personally agree on that. But in the meantime DCP is an independent party with its programmes and goals," he said.
Embakasi North MP James Gakuya has also made it clear that DCP does not see itself as a party that should simply enter an already established coalition.
"Azimio or Ukombozi have their owners. We were not party to their formation. DCP is independent. Period. We can also be approached to admit others, not join them," he said.
The party has also cited the July 17 Ol Kalou by-election as part of the evidence of its growing influence, particularly within Mt Kenya.
Kamanda said DCP's performance in the by-election demonstrated that the party was gaining political ground in the region and could therefore approach future negotiations from its own platform.
The position is emerging amid a broader contest for political influence in Mt Kenya involving Gachagua and former President Uhuru Kenyatta, while DCP is also seeking to expand its support beyond the region.
At the centre of the disagreement is not only whether DCP will join Ukombozi, but also the wider question of who should negotiate on behalf of the opposition and which leaders should have a seat at the table.
DCP Secretary-General designate John Methu said the party treats other political parties as competitors and does not want to enter an arrangement where it would become a junior or subordinate partner.
"The only concurrence under the united opposition should be a joint presidential candidate, which does not need us to enter into group fellowship. We can adopt the joint candidate and campaign for him or her while remaining as DCP," he said.
DCP's position leaves open the possibility of cooperation with other opposition players, but insists that any such engagement should be based on negotiations between independent political forces rather than automatic membership of Ukombozi.