Coalition politics cannot defeat Ruto in 2027, says Wanjigi

Safina Party leader and presidential hopeful Jimi Wanjigi has dismissed efforts to forge a united opposition front against President William Ruto, arguing that coalition politics anchored on personalities and ethnic arithmetic offers little departure from the system he says has deepened Kenya’s economic crisis. He also declared that he will contest the presidency independently in 2027.

Wanjigi said the emerging opposition realignments risk reproducing the same political culture that has repeatedly failed to address issues of debt, taxation and unemployment, insisting that Kenya’s political debate has been reduced to elite bargaining rather than substantive policy alternatives.

“The pendulum has shifted. Kenyans are not looking for recycled political formations. They want economic sovereignty and solutions to the cost-of-living crisis,” he said.

His remarks place him at odds with ongoing discussions involving opposition figures such as former Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, and the Linda Mwananchi faction led by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, who have been linked to efforts to consolidate a broad alliance to challenge Ruto in the 2027 General Election.

He argued that opposition politicians seeking to unseat Ruto are making a strategic mistake by engaging in tribal arithmetic rather than focusing on the economic grievances that united Kenyans during the anti-Finance Bill protests.

According to Wanjigi, the opposition's obsession with political coalitions and ethnic mobilisation only strengthens Ruto because the President remains more experienced in that style of politics.

“You choose to play in his corner with legacy politics and tribe. He is a better master of it than any of you. Come to the issues that have defeated him in the court of public opinion — the pain in people's pockets, jobs, debt, economic sovereignty and over-taxation,” he said.

“Once politics is reduced to coalitions and ethnic arithmetic, it becomes easier for the incumbent to dominate. That is his strongest ground,” he added.

The Safina leader also stated explicitly that he will run for the presidency on his own, rejecting any prospect of joining a joint opposition ticket or negotiated alliance ahead of the 2027 polls.

Wanjigi noted that his decision is driven by a belief that Kenya’s political system has become overly dependent on coalition bargaining, which he argues dilutes accountability and shifts focus away from policy commitments.

Wanjigi added that he is positioning himself outside both the Kenya Kwanza administration and the emerging opposition coalition, insisting that neither side has presented a credible framework to resolve Kenya’s debt burden and economic pressures.

He revisited his position on the presidency of William Ruto, stating that he does not subscribe to the conventional ‘one-term’ or ‘two-term’ framing. Instead, he described himself as taking a ‘no-term’ position and argued that the legitimacy of the current administration was eroded following public rejection of the Finance Bill 2024.

“As far as I am concerned, William Ruto got cancelled when we rejected the Finance Bill. Once citizens reject a government’s right to tax them, it signals a deeper withdrawal of consent,” Wanjigi said.

He further questioned the credibility of Gachagua’s recent criticism of government taxation policies, arguing that the former Deputy President cannot distance himself from decisions made while he was in office, noting that Finance Bill proposals were processed through Cabinet, where he served.

“Anybody who supported the 2024 Finance Bill, even after the public outcry and the loss of lives during protests, does not have the moral authority to now claim to speak for Kenyans on taxation,” he said.

Beyond current political alignments, political observers often situate Wanjigi within Kenya’s coalition-era political landscape, noting his proximity to elite political strategy circles during the 2013 General Election when President Uhuru Kenyatta and then-Deputy President William Ruto formed their Jubilee alliance.

This is commonly referenced in political analysis as part of his exposure to high-level coalition dynamics that have shaped modern Kenyan politics.

He argued that his experience in those political arrangements gives him a unique understanding of how coalition politics operates in Kenya, but insisted that such structures have largely been used for power-sharing rather than economic transformation.

Wanjigi said Kenya’s rising debt burden, estimated at nearly Sh13 trillion, requires urgent scrutiny, including a possible audit and suspension of repayments pending review. He argued that continued borrowing and taxation without accountability will deepen public frustration.

According to him, the Gen Z-led protests against the Finance Bill marked a turning point in Kenya’s political consciousness, shifting focus away from ethnic mobilisation towards demands for economic justice.

His declaration that he will run independently in 2027 adds a new dimension to the opposition landscape, introducing a separate political path distinct from both the Kenya Kwanza administration and emerging opposition coalition formations, with his campaign anchored on economic reform and criticism of coalition-driven politics.